f'lin

CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBBAR''

lltll "il' 'Tl ' 'II 'III' IT II' ' 1'!' 11'!' 'Ill' ' '!| '

3 1924 080 782 000

All books are sub|ect to recall after two weeks
Olin/Kroch Library

DATE DUE

V J M 1 ■■ "

_ , J.

,,.-

'"

Ml^

iia

^^'^•r^

1

I

I
1

GAYLORD

PRINTED IN USA

Production Note

Cornell University Library
produced this volume to preserve
the informational content of the
deteriorated original. The best
available copy of the original has
been used to create this digital
copy. It was scanned bitonally at
600 dots per inch resolution and
compressed prior to storage using
ITU Group 4 compression.
Conversion of this material to
digital files was supported by the
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Digital file copyright by Cornell
University Library 1995.

This volume has been scanned
as part of The Making of America
Project, a cooperative endeavor
undertaken to preserve and enhance
access to historical material from
the nineteenth century.

Tb (JifjHc! dala were used to

cr:ote^Corn':!rs rep!ucem3nl
vr'"me on papsr ih'il rneets

THE PURITAN AGE

IN

MASSACHUSETTS

THE

Puritan Age and Rule

IN THE

Colonp of t^c iEa00ac]^u0ctt]3 I3at

1629—1685

BY

V

GEORGE E. ELLIS

BOSTON AND NEW YORK

HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY

CllE BitiereiliE JPrros, CDambriSffe

1888

©

/ccrnell\

U (N • V r ^ - . I Y

Copyright, 1S8S,
Br Geobge E. Kllis.

JSlnttirrBitp ^rt«8 ;
John WiLSOB ANP Son, CA>.nniiM-.F..

PREFACE.

The Preface of a book is usually that part of it which is
the last to be written, and the first to be read. Tiie author
naakes use of it to suppU* any possible oversight in his
pages in the statement of his purpose, or to anticipate
any misapprehension of it. The reader turns to it with
a view to find in it a brief and comprehensive exposition
of the design of the book, and the reason why it has been
written and put forth. A few words here may answer
both these intents.

The author some half century ago began the reading
of our local history in the then most recently published
volumes which dealt with it. From these he read back
through the many books which had preceded them, till,
having favorable opportunities for so doing, he found his
way to many of the original and primary sources of it in
print and manuscript. It may safely be affirmed that
proportionally more pages have been written and put into
print concerning the early history of Massachusetts —
including the Commonwealth, the municipalities which
constitute it, the incidents and events, the men and the
institutions identified with it — than those concerning any
other like portion of the earth's territory. And to this
mass of written and printed literature we must add the

vi PBEFACfi.

larfrer mass of ephemeral matter whicli lias simply been
spukeii, to lie remembered or fort^otten. This community
is peiierally regarded as acceding to the repute of the
ancirnt Athens in its interest to hear news, with the
additional [iroclivity for deliveririj.' and listening to oratory.
( tur abounding commemorations and celeljrations, historic
and festive, have furnished themes from our early aunals,
in i)rose and jioetry. Alike in our digested histories and
in these ephemeral utterances there is a large variety in
the qualities of accuracy, fidelity, good sense, and judg-
ment, as well as of good taste and candor. Nor are there
lacking tokens of superficial knowledge and flightiness of
mind and pen in gibes and satires which may amuse but
which do not instruct. IJut having in view all these con-
tributions to our information aljout our early annals, we
may say that our knowledge is full, if not exhaustive,
and that there is a general consent in judgment, among
all intelligent and fair-minded persons, as to the harsh-
ness, austerity, intolerance, and repulsive features of the
earliest legislation and administration of government by
the founders of Massachusetts. No right-minded and
right-hearted fierson of our time would attem[it to reverse
that judgment. But some may find in the motives and
principles of the responsible parties an integrity and sin-
cerity of yiurpose, and in the stage of jiolitical and religious
(levelojiment on the way to sometliing larger and better at
which wise and good men then rested, an explanation of
much that cannot be approved or justified.

It is in the original documentary sources of our eailv
history, written by those who made that historv, not in
even the best digests and compends of it, that we are
brought into the most communicative relations with the

PREFACE. Vll

founders and early legislators of our Commonwealth.
There we learn from themselves their motives and prin-
ciples, in the matters in which they are most at variance
■with the light and advancement to which we have attained.
The historic judgment passed upon these austere and
arbitrary rulers is expressed in the two familiar statements,
— that they sought liberty of conscience for themselves
and denied it to others ; and that they exiled themselves
to escape persecution for their religious beliefs and prac-
tices, and then proceeded to persecute all who questioned
or opposed their own principles. It was nut till I had
carefully read and reflected upon their own autograph
documents above referred to, — letters, journals, and public
records, — that I was made to realize to what qualifications
those statements must be sut)jccted in order to Ije true to
them and true to us. It is exactly and precisely in tlie
difference of meaning and interpretation which those state-
ments have for us, and wliich they would have had to those
exiles, that we are tn find, — not the justification nor the
palliation, but the explanation of their course as in their
view a righteous one. " Liberty of conscience," in the full
significance and range which the phrase covers for us, was
never claimed or exercised by our early Puritans. They
held in supreme dread what it stood for in their time.
The spiritual and mental liberty which they demanded
and employed, was a right and duty to release themselves
from all humanly imposed authority in religion, and all
indulgence of their own devices and inclinations, in order
that they might put themselves directly under the Divine
rule found in " the Word of God." Then, as to escaping
persecution for themselves and inflicting it on others, the
following pages will abundantly offer us their plea, alike

Vlii PREFACE.

justifyinij tln'ir sclf-cxile from England and their admin-
istration lierc. 'I'iic constraints, disabilities, and penalties
from wLich tliey Hoii<rlit to release tliemselves were all of
human device and im[io8ition. Whether Papal or Prelati-
eal, these ecclesiastical impositions and exactions were, as
they helirvrd, wiiolly witlniut warrant. They were tradi-
tions, priestly conceits, and inventions, mingled with false-
hoods, frauds, and 8uj)er8titions, ensnaring conscience and
violatini^ individual rights and freedom, planting them-
selves between God and the direct apfiroach of his chil-
dren to him. Turning from all the-se human devices and
olistructions, the Puritan committed Jiimself to a Book
which Papists and Prelatists, with himself, professed to
l)elieve and accept as of Divine authority, — "the Word of
God." The Puritans argued that it could not be wrong
to obey God rather than men. Puttinir themselves under
the authority of that Book, as revealinix " the laws, stat-
utes, and ordinances of fiod," the Puritans jwrsuaded them-
selves tiiat there was also no wrong in holding all under
their government to obedience to it; for "the government
was God's, not theirs."

My aim in the following pages is to set forth with more
fulness and method tlian I have met with elsewhere the
motives of estrangement and grievance which prompted
the exile of the Puritans to this Bay, and the grounds on
which they proceeded to exercise their severe and arbitrary
rule here. The puints to be chielly cmphasi7,ed in this his-
toric exfiosition are these : the relations of the Puritans, as
Nonconformists, to the Church of England at the jieriod of
its reformation and reconstruction in tiie transition from
tlic Papacy to Protestantism ; the peculiar estimate of and
way of using tile Bible, characteristic of the Puritans under

PREFACE. IX

the critical circumstances of the time wliich had substi-
tuted the Book for the authorit}' of the Papal and the Pre-
latical Church ; their finding in that book the pattern and
basis for a wholly novel form of government in civil and
religious affairs, with an equally novel condition of citizen-
ship ; their attempt at legislation and administration on
theocratic principles ; and the discomfiture of their scheme
as involving injustice, oppression, and intolerance.

The reader will find throughout the volume, and espe-
cially on pages 52.5, 536-538, with what strength and ex-
plicitness of statement the authorities of Massachusetts
urged the religious motives of their scheme and enter-
prise. These earnest and plaintive utterances were called
forth in their painful struggle to preserve the Charter,
which they believed covenanted to tliem t!ie rights they
had exercised. They say to the king that they arc ready
to comply with his Majesty's demands for altering their
laws, " except such as the repealing tcherenf will make us to
renounce the professed cause of our first coiniiiij hither."

March, 1888.

CONTENTS.

I.

Boston, and Pi-blic Meetings.
Pages 1-44.

Bostnn settled. Capital of Massachusetti. Meetings there. Its
oria;iiial Area and Features. Changes in them. Changes in Popu-
lation. Domestic and Social Qualities and Habits. Recent Foreign
Elements. Simplicity and Integrity of its early Municipal Gov-
ernment. Changes in the Country Towns of Massachusetts. Pu-
ritan Legislation on the .Sabbath. Modern Statutes upon it. The
Founders of Ma.ssachusetts. Their Religious Aim.s and Motives.
A Novel Bisis for Government and Citizenship. An Ideal Com-
monwealth administered by the Bible. Severity of Rule and Dis-
cipline. John Winthrop the Master Spirit. His Elevated and
Noble Character. His Virtues and Services. Criticisms upon him.
His Death and Funeral. Tribute of the General Court to hiui.
Taken as the Exponent of the Aims of his As.sociatcs. Historical
Judgments upon their Spirit and Admini.stration. The Claims of
Truth and Candor. Liberty of Conscience, how understood. A
Biblical Commonwealth or Theocracy. Restraints upon Individual
Liberty; Domestic and Social Life. Trial of their Scheme. Treat-
ment of Dissenters. Stages in the Progress of Liberal Principles.
Fanaticism and Entliusiasm displaced by Rationalism, the Effect
not necessarily leading to Indifference, Laxity, and Degeneracy.

II.

TUE GOVEKNOR AND COMPANY OF THE MASSACHUSETTS BaY.

Pages 45-62.

Charter and Territory of, as a Trading Company. Members of it.
Endicott at Salem, ISib. Cradock, Governor. Transfer of Charter
and Government here. Alleged Illegality of the Measure. " Gen-
eral Considerations " for the Plantation. Design for a " Particular

XU CONTENTS.

Church." Meeting at ("aniliriil[;(v <)ii>,niial .Subscriber to Agree-
iTU'ul fi>r Eiiiijjraticiu. John \Viiithr(j[i iiiaiie a Member of the
( 'niii|>iiTiy, ami (Jovcrnor. Ministers maiie Freemen, for Religious
Motives. Wirithrop's Cdrresjiomlence ami Prejiarations to embark.
Tlio Fleet. Tender Lcavotakint; of tlie English Church. The
Charge of Insincerity in it. 1 1 igginson's Leave-taking. The Voy-
ai;e begins. \\'intlir'i|i'M AdJre.ss ou the Passage. The Covenant
with (inil ami i'a<li other. Arrival. Formation of the First
Church, after Corjgregational Model. Covenant and Organization.
Nonconformists, but not beparati.sts. Alleged Inconsistency in
I'roceedings.

III.

TliK NciNCONFOKMI.'^TS AM) Till. ClUTtCII OF E.VGLAVD.
Paues (53 IJl.

Puritans distinguished between Nonconformists and Separatists. Tlie
IlifTerence defined Principles of tlie Puritans. Misrepresentations.
Their Early Appearance and Influence at the Reformation. The
Church of England will) a Lay Head. The (Jrowth of tlie Church
of Rome. Slow, Impeded, Inconstant, and Arre^t-d Progress of
the Reformation Tin- Rooted Power, Dominancy, and .Sway of
the Papal Churrh Formative Period of the English Church. The
Eailv I'nrii.ans ; tlicir High I'osilion, Character, Influence, and
Aims. ^liscordances among the Hishops. A'iolent Changes in
Government in Successive Reigns Henry \lll. Versatility of
the English People. The Undefined Standard and Kegree of
Reformation and Reconstruction. Substitute for the Papal Church.
The Puritans plant themselves strictly upon the Scriptural Model
for the Church, repmliating Tradition and Sacerdotalism. The
Puritans ami the B'lble. The Laity first asserting their Claims.
Lectureships and Conferences. Puritan View of a Church. Denial
of a Threefold Order in the Ministry. The Scripture Office of
De.acons. Protests against I.,ord Bishops and a Hierarchy. The
Parity of till' Ministry. .\[xistolical Surres.sion. " Inferior Clerg}."
Edward W., Mary, Elizabeth, James 1. Modem Recognition of
Puritan Principles by Divines of the English Church. Modern
Scheme for " Christian I'nity." Stages of the Keformation.
Hible and ScTTices in English. Form of Baptism. Puritan " S<-ru-
jiles." Nonconformity. The Rise of Sects, Enthusiasts and Fa-
natics. The Puritan Scholars who came to New England. Objec-
tions to the Bonk of Common Prayer. Saints' Days and Holy days
condemned by Craimier. Puritan Objections to. " Liberty of

CONTENTS. xiii

Conscience." Massachusetts Puritanism. Lines of Division iii
Institution and Worsliiji. StrengtheueJ Prejudices and Alienations.
The English State Church and Dissenters. The Reconciliations of
Time and Liberalism.

IV.

The Puritans and tue Bible.
Pages 12.>-10G.

The Bible. Puritanism founded upon it. Relations between tliem.
" The Word of God." The Reformation substituted the Bible for
the Autliority and Uses previously served by the Church. The
Consequences of this. The Bible breaks the Sway of the Priest-
hood. Laymen come to their Rights. The Bible secondary in the
Papal Church. The Bible in the Westminster Confession. The
Bible introduces Democracy in Church and State. Claims made
for the Bible. Assumptions and Overestimates. Results from
these. Accord in Belief made impcssible. Rightof Private Judg-
ment. Inspiration. Labor of Apologists, Expositors, and Com-
mentators. Attempt at Revision. Change in the Estimate of the
Bible. The Puritan Conception of God. The Puritan or West-
minster Creed digested fjoni the Bible. The Teachings of that
Creed. The Severity and Cruelty taught by that Creed. Stern
Sincerity of the Puritan Belief. Reduced Views of the Bible.
Logic of Calvinism. " Progressive Tlieology." Puritan Covenant.
Puritan Diaries. Puritan Prayers and Worship. Fasts and Thanks-
givings. The Bible in the Puritan Household.

The Biblical Commonwealth.

Pages 1G7-139.

Ba.sis of Government of the Founders of Massachusetts. The Will
and Law of God revealed in a Book. Records of the Government.
Idea) Schemes of Society and Commonwealths. The Massachusetts
Theocracy. Mormonism. Divine Obligations imiH)sed. Plan of
the Puritan Commonwealth. The Old Testament rather than the
New. " The Statutes, Laws, and Ordinances of (Jod." Politics of
Puritanism. A Theocracy. Natural and Revealed Religion and
Philosophy. Method of Revelation. Theophaniea 4nd Inspira-
tions. Reformers. Severity of the Puritan Rule. Illustrations
of Biblical Legislation. The Magistrates " Ministers of God."
The Laity and the Clergy. The " EMers " subordinate. Their
•Functions and Influence. " Moses His Judicials." Laws.

XIV CONTENTS.

VI.

Ciiiucii Me.mbehsiih' and the Fuanchise.
I'AtiKS L'0<)-2l'7.

Membership of the Ma-ssachviKettH liav Coinjiaiiy. Admission of Frep-
iiieii. Cliurch MeiiibeiKhip the C'oii(liliuii. Nuiiiber.-. of, admitted.
Ueiiiiiiistrauce and Vindication Tlje Freenian'H Oath. The
Churches l<> consist of " .Saints." MethoJ for Membersliip. Bai>-
tistn, Kelipious Lxfierience. Admission. Covenant. Discipline.
Admonition. Kxcoinmunication. The Court interferes with the
lndej)endence of Churches. Compulsory Support of Religion.
Form of Church (Jovernment. Dread of I'resbyterianLsra. Synod
at Cambridge. Religious Legislation. Proceedings against Heresy.
Sabbath Laws.

VII.

AdMI.NISTUATION INDER THE CllARTEK.

I'AiiEs 'j-js-acG.

Charter RijibLs of the Miissachu.sctts Bay Company. Conflicting
Views on. Claims of the Court. Exercise of Authority. Legal
or Inferential Uiglits. Rights a.ssumed in Legislation. Clearing
the Territory, (iranting I'rivileges. Banishment. Legislation in
Virginia. I'opulation of Massachusetts. The Hudson Bay Com-
pany'.s Charter. (Governor Winthrop on the Ma.ssachusetts Charter.
Rights of the Colonists as Englishmen. Legal Opinion on Rights
conferred by thi' Charter, The Members of the Company Partners
and (Jwners. Colony Records and Town Histories. Massachusetts
Municipalities. Public Schools. The College. Legislation on
Intoxicating Liquors; on Apparel. Sumptuary Laws.

VIII.

Till; Banishment of Rocfu Williams.
Paofw 2G7-29lt.

Character and Fame of Roger Williams. His Career. His Biogra-
phers. Earlv Life. A Sejiaratist. IVdines Ui be Teacher of
Hostiiii Church Not ft Freeman. Called to Salem Church. In-
tcrferenre o[ the M.igistrates. Williams goes to I'lvmouth. His
Repute there. Returns to Salem. His " Large BcKik in Quarto"

CONTENTS. XV

on the Patent. The Magistrates Peruse it, and Object to it. His
Criticism of the Patent. The Rights of the Indians. Claims to
Sovereignty. Williams consents to burn his Book. He again
stands by it. He, with Endicott, mutilates the King's Colors. The
Magistrates again interpose. Williams refuses the Resident's
Oath. Summoned before the General Court. Charges against
him. The Town and the Church of Salem offended by the Temper
of the Court. Williams resents the Treatment of his Church, by
writing " Letters of Defamation " to the other Churches. The
Elders remonstrate effectively with the Salem Church. Williams,
in Displeasure, withdraws from it. He becomes a " Come-outer,"
and holds a separate service. The Court sentences him to Banish-
ment. His Private Withdrawal. His Parting with Wiiithrop.
" In the Wilderness." Befriended by the Indians. At Providence.
Is rebaptized, and afterwards renounces the Rite. Embarks at
New York for England. The Charter for Rhode Island. Petition
to sail to England from Boston granted. His Life and Kind Ser-
vices in Rhode Island. His Sentence revoked by Massachusetts.
His Death. Statue and Park Memorials.

IX.

Mrs. HuTcniNsoN and the Antinomian Contuoveksy.
Pages 300-3G2.

Religious Controversies. Old Polemics. Justification and Sanctifi-
cation. Meaning of Antinomianism. Fanaticism and Enthusiasm.
Excesses of Sectarism. Mrs. Hutchinson and John Wheelwright
in Boston. Join the Church. Her Kind Services to Women.
Holds Women's Meetings. Criticises the Ministers. Arrival of
Henry Vane and Hugh Peter. Variance in Boston Church about
Wheelwright. Vane, Peter, Dudley, and Winthrop. Mrs. Hutch-
inson's Opinions and Meetings brought under Question. Aggrava-
tions of Strife. Inferences. Tlie Controversy about Wheelwright.
Vane chosen Governor. A Party in the Contest. Scene in the
Court. Petty and Serious Variances. Increasing Feuds and Ex-
citements. Mr. Cotton under a Cloud. A Fast. Wheelwright's
Sermon. The Court and Church. Mrs. Hutchinson and Wheel-
wright repudiate Antinomianism. The two Covenants of Faith
and Works. Court held at Cambridi^e. Winthrop displaces Vane
as Governor. Law excluding Strangers. Controversy between
Vane and Winthrop. Vane returns to England. His Character.
Synod at Cambridge, and its Results. Remonstrance to Court.
Wheelwright tried and banished. Mrs. Hutchinson tried and

VI rONTENTS.

banished. Her Examination. Complications and Bitterness of
the Strife. Disarming and Banishing of Remonstrants. Mrs.
Hutchinson Vxifore the Church; admonished and excommunicated.
She goes to Rhode Island. Her Meetings there. Still under
Ward uf the Church. Discipline contitjued. Her Sons in Rhode
Island and BohUju. Her Friends. The Death of her Husbanii.
Her Removal to the Dutch at Astoria. She ajid her Large Family
there, save one Child, the Victims of an Indian Massacre. The
Process of Reconciliation. Mrs. llutchin.son's Posterity. Mr.
Wheelwright's Petition and Forgiveness. Character and Elements
of the Antinomian Controversy.

A Jeslit enjoys Puritan IIosriTALiTT.
PAGE8 3G.3-374.

Tlie French in Canada. Massachusetts Law against Jesuits. Diplo-
macy for Trade. " Papistical " Visitors to Boston. Winthrop's
Account of. Miles Standish at the Kennebec. Father Gabriel
Druillette and the Abenaquis. His Mission from G<.'vernor D'Aille-
boust to Ma.ssachusetts. His Journal. His Friend. John Wins-
low. Travel and Voyage. At Boston. Guest of Major-Generai
Gibbons. Vi.sits Governor Dudley. Guest of the Magistrates.
Visits Plymouth; Guest of Governor Bradford. His Errand. Vis-
its the Afxjstle Eliot. Courteous Intcn-iew. Returns to Boston.
His Instructions. Visits Governor Endicott. Keturus Home.
Makes a Second Visit.

XI.

The Raitists rNDEn Puritan Discitline.
Pages 37.')-107.

Baptists and Anabaptists. Doctrine of the Roman Church on Bap-
tism. The English ("hurch. The I'uritan Doctrine. Infant Bap-
tism. Lac1t of New Test.impnt Authority. Takes the Place of
Circumcision. Inferential Teaching. .Anabaptists of Holland and
Germany. Fanatical Extravagances. Anabaptist,s in Rhode Island.
Baptists in Massachusetts. First Dissentients fmin the Westmin-
ster Doctrine of Infant Baptism. Discipline of. Law against
Anab.aptists. Discont*.'nt cau.scd by. Ma.ssachnsetts and Plymoutli
Colonies. Visit of Rhode Island Baptists to Boston. Severe Deal-

CONTENTS. XVU

ings with them. Prosldeiit Dunster of llaivanl Colk-go. His
Character and Services. His Views on Infant Baptism. Under
Church Discipline. Impugned by the Court. Conference witli
Elders. Dunster resigns his Office. His Protest against the Bap-
tism of an Infant. Admoni.shed by the Court. His Final Resig-
nation. Treatment of him. His Successor appointed. His Final
Appeal. Removal to Scituate. His Death. Interment at Cam-
bridge. Monument. Baptists in Boston establish .Separate Con-
gregations. Opposition to them. Their Final Triumph. Recon-
ciliation.

XII.

The Intrusion of the Quakers.
Tagfs 408-191.

Consternation in Boston "ii the First Arrival of (Quakers. Antago-
nisms of Puritans and Quakers. Principle,s of either Party. Ori-
gin of the Quakers. Their Obnoxious Behavior obscured their
Noble Principles. Appeared to be "Wild and Lawless Fanatics.
Quaker Literature. Two Classes of it. Earliest Tracts. Their
Spirit, Sentiments, and Language. Later Quaker Literature
Quakerism an Eclecticism. George Fox, Organizer of the .So-
ciety of F'riends. His Divine Call and Commission. His
^Vhimse^■s and Oddities. Treatment of Quakers in England,
Opinions held about them. Dread of them in Massachusetts
A Fast Day. Attitude of Puritans and Quakers, and Opin-
ions about each other as tliey meet. The First Arrival of
Quakers. Their History. Proceedings against them by thi>
Magistrates. Arrival of Others. Imprisoned and sent off. Pro-
test against their Treatment. The Court passes the First Law
against Quakers. Proceedings under it. .Sufferei-s. Comers by
Sea, and tliose from Rhode Island. Tlieir Alleged Vagabondism,
Illiteracy, and Blasphemy. Extravagances. Further Legislation
unavailing. Death Penalty proposeii. Opposition to. Division
in the Court. Capital Law passed by a Majority of One. Massa-
chusetts Corresfiondence with other Colonies. Treatment of Qua-
kers in them Quaint Letter from Rhode Island. Sentences bi
Death, by Ma.ssachusetts Court. Robinson and Stevenson executed.
Mary Dyer reprieved, returns, and is put to Death. Petition
from her Husband. William I/eddra executi'd. Consent of Qua-
kers under De;ith .Sentence to go off. Popular Opp<.>sition against
further executions breaks down the Court. Quakers in Prison

6

X-vili CONTENTS.

u.sk fur Release, and agree to leave the .Jurisdiction. A (jeiieral
.Jail Drlivriy. t'liiirl addiesses the King. Kew Law for Whip-
jiiuL,'. All Cjnakers in I'iison reli-ased. The Quakers appeal to
C'haiii-s II. His l,etler to the (.'ipurt. 'J'he Ivffect of it. The
Court's ltei)ly. The King in a Second Letter Authorizes " A bliarp
Law against the Quakers." Kxces.ses of some ol the Quakers.
Further Legislation. I'acilication and Tolerance. Koger \Villiaui.s
ill Controversy with the Quakers.

Xlll.

TnK Downfall of the Colony Charter.
I'ages 492-o.'J5.

Causes wliich threatened the Charter Government Iinfiracticability
of the Scheme of the Theocracy. Its Ill-^\'orking. Persistency C'f
its Administrators. Temporary Success. J)i^cussioll on Relations
to Juigland. Parliamentary C'uniinissioners. I^iplomacy and
Agents. Dissension and J)iscont«nl among the Peo]ple. Knemies
and Complainants in Kngland. Political Changes and Influences
there. Charles II. concerns himself with the Affairs of Massachu-
setts. The Court first under Agitation. Tlie Charter concealed.
The Restriction of the Franchise qualified The Relation? of
Conformists and Dissenters inverted. Letters to the King. Rela-
tions between Massachusetts and the other New England Colonies
Chancellor Clarendon's Commissioners to Xew Kngland. Their
Reception in Massachusetts The King requires Agents to be sent
to him Contests .and Variances with the Commissioners Tlie
Itook of Common Prayer. " The Book of the Generall Lawes and
I^iberties." The "Commonwealth." A Categorical Question.
The Discomfiture of the Commissioners The Court sends Pres-
ents to the King. The College and I'ublic Schools. I'eril tem-
porarily averted King Philip's War. First Appearance of the
Knemy, Randolph. His I'lultings His lieports to the King.
Agents sent by the Court, liamlolph's Machinations. The King's
Demands. Tin' Court's Tenacity. The Contestants matched.
Randolph's \'oyages to and fro His " Representation of tlie
Ilostoneers." Coinplainis of M;ison and Ciorges. More Agents sent.
Further Complications. Dissensions. Ai'pcals to the King on
Charter Rights, and the Peculiar Religious Intent of the Colony.
Distractions in the dmrt. D^'alh of Cliarles II. Accession of
James II. Chancery I'roceeiiings ag.iinst the Charter. Its Con-
demnation and Fall. " Sad and Awfull Circumstances." Results

CONTENTS. XIX

of the Theocratical Experiment. Forms of Intolerance. The
Basis of Government. Tlje Fruitage of Puritanism. Mediwvalism,
Ecclesiasticism, and Sacerdotalism. The Puritan jMiuister. Puri-
tan Intolerance. '• Christian Unity."

Note on the " Salem AVitcucraft."
Pages UJG-5G4.

INDEX 565

Maps: Boston in 1C30 and in 1888

jSIAPS of boston EN" 1630 AND IN 1888.

c

7-.

f-
c/:

C

n

THE PURITAN AGE AND RULE

IN THE

COLONY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY.

BOSTON, AND PUBLIC MEETINGS.

" The OoTernor ami Company of tlie Massaclmsctts Bav
in New Enp^land,"' coni]iosed of tlic Magistrates and those
wlio up to that date had been made Freemen, sometimes
called " the Commons," mectiiifr in Boston, Oct. 3, 163:2,
passed the followincr vote : —

" It is tliou:;ht hy gencrall consent that Boston is the fittest
place for puhlique meetinjjs of any place in the Bay."

This vote gave its Capital to the future Commonwealth
of Massachusetts.'

Those who have acceded to their heritage, either by birth
or adoption, in this Commonwealth, in wiiatcver else tliey

' During .some jealousies in 1644, wliic'li brought about changes in the
magistracy, tlicre were omens that the Court might bo removeil to Ij)3wich,
tlien ft formidable rival to Boston. In 1650, a jictition in lichalf of the toWTi
of Boston was presented to the Ceneml Court that it might be made a Cor-
poration, — a ** Mayor Town." The C'Hirt defori'ed decisive action to its next
se3.sion, with an intimation that the reijuest sliould be granted I'onditionally,
if reasons could be given for it consistent with "the meane condition of the
country." (Records, iii. 207.) Notliing further was done in the matter, as
the people proved unwilling to part with their town-meeting privileges. It
was not till a hundred and seventy yeara after that date, that Boston became
a " Mayor Town."

1

THE PURITAN AGE.

have rc(;iiii('(l or yicMcd i)f Ihi' [irinriplfs and ways of its
ftiuiiiJci's, |ia\(' faitlirullv a^nei-d witli tliriii in opinion and
pi'iicticu in the matter of tliat vote. The Court liad met
here previous!} , cm (_)ct. lU, 1030, " P'or the Establishinge
cit' the (ioverntnent."

And what was the lioston of that time, wlien a company
of exiled EuLdishmeii thus laid in the wilderne.'^s tin' fciun-
dations in law and policy of a new comnionwiTilth ? It was
a roug-h, rufrizcd, and iri-c<rular ])eninHula, not exccedin;; a
mile and a half square of land area, nf six abrupt eleva-
tions with valleys, slenderly elad with trees, hut sti'ewn
with thickets, hushes, and reeds ; witli wide. Hat, oozy sea-
margins, inlets of river and ocean, and a few sunken depos-
its of fresh water. Many pure and limpid sprinjrs cuslied
to the surface. One wliitc occupant, a lonely Englishman,
ordained in the Church, liut with nn Hock in the wilderness,
had here a cabin, with an orchard and tillcd-ground. The
peninsula was united at the south to the mainland liy a
neck about two miles in length, often washec] oxer liv the
bays on cither side.

" The littest i)lace in the Bay for ]uiblique meetings."
And so it has jn'oved. Where, upon any sjiot on the sur-
face of the earth, within the same limits of time, has there
been held as here such a succession of public meetincrs, in
number, variety of occasion and purpose, in constituency of
membership, in the gravity and consequences of the busi-
ness, the movements, and the results decided in them ?
From edicts going forth from the Court nieetini: in the
town all the other muiiicipalilics makiriLT up tlie Common-
wealth ha\e been created. Here levies for wars with In-
dians, Fiance, and Enirland have been exacted, :ind armies
have l)een eipiippe(l and victualh^d. Here niuniciiial, ."-^tate.
and National C(Uistitutions have been debated and ratified.
Here patriotic assemblies, political parties, meetings for
everv interest of commerce, trade, education, art, science,
enterprise, benevolence, — in recent years including women

BOSTON, AND PUBLIC MEETINGS. 3

with men, — have been gathered, to give and hear f)lain
counsel, and to be stirred by eloquence.

A simple, chronoloirical list of the " [)ublique meetings "
which liave been held in Boston, with the dates and occa-
sions and the doings of them, since the Court decreed its
"fitness" for them, would in itself be a liistory of the
series of developments and events covering all the highest
interests of men in society. We have but to add the fact,
that alike in serious and in satirical repute Boston has
been accredited with ingenuity, inventiveness, and eccen-
tricity in the variety, fertility, novelty, and extravagance
of the '■ isms " wbieh havr had birth and furtherance here,
— and then we have the completed inventory (jf what has
come from the confiding vote of our first legislators.

Is there not reason then for asserting that no portion
of the area of Christendom has witnessed such varied and
radical changes as have been realized here'.' And as the
narrative which is to engage us is to bring before ns scenes,
actors, and subjects witli which everything now before our
eyes and in our living e.xjM'rience is so uiarvellously in con-
trast, we may note in full tlie transition from tlic wilder-
ness town to the cosmo[)olitan city. An ingenious and
admirably drawn maf) now lying before me represents, by
an artistic arrangement of lines and colors, the original
outlines of the fieninsula and its present bounds.

The following description of Boston, probably written in
1C40, is from Johnson's " Wonder-Working Providence,"'
London, l(i54 ; —

" Boston — iiivironccl it is willi the Brinisli flouds, saving one
small Istmos, wliich gives free acresse to \\\k Neighbour Towncs ;
by Land on the .South side, on the North west, and North East.
The forme of this Towne is like a lieart, naturally scituated for
Fortifications, having two Hills on the frontict- part thereof next the
Sea, — the one well fortified on the superfices thereof, with store
of great Artillery well mounted ; the other hath a very strong batr

' Chapter XX.

4 TlIK PURITAN AOE.

(cry liuill of wlidlr 'riiul)CT, ami (illcil will] Earth. At the descent
of (he Hill ill tlic cxtrriiii- poyiil ihiTrof, lictwixt tliesc two Btron;,'
urines, lies a lur;;e Cove, or Uav, on whieh the chiefest part of this
luwii is built, uver-top|ie(l with a third Hill : all three like over-
toppiu;,' Towers kicpe a eoiisiaijl watili to foresee the apjiroach ot
forreiu daii;;ers, beiii;; furnished with a Heaeon ami lowd-hahlinj;
CJu[is, to i.'ive notice liv their rcdoiiljlcd crrho to all their Sister-
lowiics. Idle (hi(di' Kditice of this (itv-likc Townc i> crowdci] on
(he Sea-hankcs. aii<l wharfed out with ;:reat industry and cost, the
huildiuLTs heaulifull and lar;;c, some fairly set forth \vi(li Brick. Tile.
S(one, and Slate, and orderly placed with cnmly streets. «hose eon-
(iiiuall iulari^ement i)resages some sumptuous City. The wonder
of this moderne A;;e, that a few yeares should brinp forth such
•jreat matters by so nieane a liandfull, and they so far from being
inriched by the spoiles of other Nations thai the states of many
of them luive been spoiled by the Lordly Frelacy, whose Lands
must assuri'dly make Restitutions. But now behold the admirable
Acts of C'hrisl .' at this his peoples landing, the hideous Thickets in
this place were such that AV(dfes and Beares nurst up their young
from the eyes of all beholders, — in those very places where the
streets are full of Girles and Boys sporting up and downe, with a
continued concourse of people."

Allowance must be made in tliis description for the en-
thusiasm of the military ofiiccr, surveyor, law-maker, town
(derk, court dryuity, and commissioner on all miscellane-
ous business, — C'ajit. Edward Johnson, the anonymous
author of the " WonvJcr-Working Providence of Zion's
Saviour in Xew-KnL'land." lie was a I'uritan of the
Puritans, historian — after a sketchy, uncouth, and frag-
mentary fashion — of atTairs of State and (^hurch idcntilied
with eacli otlier. Ilis jirose is to a degree inlclligilile, but
his attem|its ,'it poidry are distressing, suggestivt' of cramps
and dyspepsia in tiie writer.

What was once tiie narrowest point of tlic iieniiisula is
now its broadest .strtdch of land between two inner bavs.
'l"he costliest edilices are reared on sand and gravel brought

BOSTON, AND PUBLIC MEETINGS. 5

in from the country twenty miles distant, on foundations
of piling and granite from forest and iniarry. Its land
area Jias been nearly trebled. Its sea-margin has been
fringed successively by piers and wharves extending far-
ther into deep water, and giving to it on the nia]i the aji-
pearanee of a centipede. We need not exempt even the
amphibious territory of Holland from the sweep of the
statement, that more of expense and labor and artificial
construction has been laid out on the land surface of Bos-
ton than upon any other equal sjiace of tlie earth. The
levelling of hills, the reclaiming of alluvial and marshy
basins, the grading of declivities, the opening and broaden-
ing of highways, and tlie coating of stone and brick laid
over the original soil, present visible evidencrs to the eye
of continued and still uncomplctcil processes. Of thr Ijui-
rowings beneath the surface, the disused wells, the jiipes
for water, drains, sewerage, and gas, anrl lor ronveving
heated water, the labyrinthine [leiloratiims, wiih tbeir
"man-traps," and their risks of miasmatic exhalations
and cx]ilosions. (jonvert it into a mineii eitadi'l or a slum-
bering volcano.

If we should attempt to trace the changes of two and a
iialf centiuies on tliis peninsula in the cbaractei- and com-
position of the people, their occupations and resources,
their habits of life, their amu.semcnts, their o[iiiiious, their
distribution into classes, their [lolitical and leligious par-
ties and sects, and their inherited traditional or alien be-
liefs and proclivities, — we should be led into discursions,
interesting indeed, but having no other relation to the sulv
ject of these pages than the possilde conni'ction we might
tind between operating causes in the past and their results
in the present.

As the end of life draws near to some, who with zeal,
ability, and earnestness liave been leaders in some of the
revolutionary experiments and movements in human affairs,
more strong in their breasts than the desire for the prom-

6 THE POIUTAN AGR.

ised l)liss of thr^ lifreafter is tlic cravin^^ tliat tliry might
have tin; privilege of coiiscioiisly watching tlic dt'vehj[)nient,
the fatr or tortiiiie, ol' thfii- (jiitcrpriscs and aims on tlie
earth. How have time and changing generati(jns wrought
with them '( Have tlieir [ilauH and sclKMnes, into wliich
they threw tlirir nohlr, licroic, and si-lf-saciilieing [iridc and
hope, been led on to triiun[»h and Iruitioii ; ur have thi y
failed, been rc|)udiated, mocked over, and consigned to the
categorv of the fallacies and follirs through whiidi true
[irogress has ever made its inifieded advance'.' \i one
might call back for conipanionshi[) and converse a veritable
Puritan magistrate or elder of our first age, and while in
the use of eye and thought on tliis same old soil, with its
border of the sea, he unites the past with the [iresent, the
sadness with which he would pronounce upon the failuic of
liis devout scheme could be relieved only by the comments
and e.Kplanation which you could ofTcr hiui of the methods
and the results. Three classes of public buildings, belonging
respectively to the City, the State, and the Nation, would
furnish you the guides for explaining to him the great his-
toric developments which lune left such maiked memorials
of their course. Ne.xt. you W(.)uld l»e glad to withdraw his
gaze and his curiosity from objects whieli you know would
grieve him, by naming to him the geneious, refining, and
benevolent uses of the long array of public edifices, lios-
pitals, asylums, refuges, homes, libraries, halls of cultuie
and of art, set off by sumptuous and lu.xurious private
iiomes. It will furnish for each intelligent eiti/.cn a good
test of the extent and metboil of his informal ion of the
past among these transfoinied scenes, and the changes
which time has wrought in them, if he asks himself iiow
far he is (pialilied to intei'prct the processes which have
wrought here, and to estimate tln'm on the scale of the
progress of humanity in all things.

It Would have been a subject of instructive interest for
one engaged in tracing the results of hereditv and the de-

BOSTONj AND PUBLIC MEETINOB. 7

velopments of lineage in a class of distinctly marked so-
cial and racial cliaracteristics, if he could have had before
him no\r in Boston and in Massachusetts only the descend-
ants of the original Puritan stock. At the period marked
as the limit for the treatment of the subject of the follow-
ing pages, the ])opulation of the town and colony was sub-
stantially indigenous and homogeneous. There was then
lingering on the stage, as the Nestor of the original tyjie
of magistrates, the venerable Simon Bradstreet, allowed,
after a shock of revolution, to preside for a brief term
over the iiickcring after-glow of the expiring old regime,
with a faint conceit of a revival. Juduie Sewall, in his
journal, utters his piteous laments as one by one the lirst
worthies, " who loved the old wax s," fell in their lot, till
the last was gone. But their children- — of which were he
and his — and their grandchildren, with replenishments
of like beliefs and ways from the old home, still held the
ancient rule. The Puritans of their tinii^ combined (he
melancholy and the softened elemental vigor of the Indian
summer of their region. By recognizing two signilieant
facts which would enter into the inquiry, we are aided in
conceiving what would have been the iiilH'rited,yet reduced
and ([ualKied, characteristics of their succeasi\e generations
restricted to the development from the original stock, with
no admi.\ture. First, we should recognize just at the close
of tlie Puritan age the j)resence and working of some soft-
ening, liberalizing influences in tlie old rigidity of doctri-
nal belief, in the constraint of religious observance, and in
the austerity of manners and habits of life. The second
fact to be held in mind is, that there yet survive among us
sturdy specimens of those of Puritan lineage, training, and
spirit, who still rejoice in their inheritance, and under wiiat-
ever enfranchisement or enlargement they may liave found
for it stand for the essentials of the old belief and jirin-
ciples. Taking those two facts together, — the liberalizing
and softening of the old austerities, and the survival in

b TIIL I'UKITAN AGE.

life and prai^tical iiillueiici' of Puritan priiicii)les, — we
might widi some facility have traced tlie devehjpiuents of
Puritaniam fioin its own .stoek, on its own soil.

There are still secluded towns and villages of the Com-
monwealth, not accessible hy railroads and not occupied by
manufacturing corporations, in which tlie old Puritanisni
has, so to speak, "gone to seed," without change of crops.
'i"he original sandy and stony soil has known no fertilizers,
and those wiio till it still have to live on its root and
surface products. P>ut witiiin tiie nieniories of those si ill
in life here in Boston, elements and influences, jcoples
and institutions, have been subjected to such radical and
marvellous changes as to make it equally futile and vain
to ask what the place, its condition and circumstances,
would have been if left to the developments from its own
lineage and stock. One might almost say that the inheri-
tance has lai)sed, from the failure of heirs of lawful succes-
sion, and by alienation, into the hands of strangers. The
descendants of the Puritans arc in the minoritv here, nor is
the rule nor the tone of life with tiiem ^-iin-lit respect of
recDLmition or courtesy is jiaid to them or their traditions,
such as is thougiit to be due from some fine and generous
natures to the representatives of a decayed, hut once formi-
dable family. We put the sum and substance, the facts
and their im[iorf, of all the transformation that has been
wrought here in a single sentence, when we sa\ that men,
principles, haljits, and institutions ha\e n.iw the asceiulencv
in the Puiitan heritage of which the fathers intended and
ho[)ed to Ikivc ri(l themselves and their imsteritv for all
time. The process and the results of this transformation
may here be glanced at, not in a partisan or sectarian spirit,
nor witii intimations of jiersonal ]U'eferences or regret, nor
even with references to irnins or losses. improNcment or de-
terioration,— but simply in their <'haiacter as chantrcs.

At the close of the se\enleenth century a foreign element
for'the first time came in to minirle with our native Puri-

BOSTON, AND PUBLIC MEETINGS. 9

tanism. It was not large or influential in its substance,
nor in any way disturbing by its presence, but on the con-
trary, welcome and congenial. It was that of the French
Huguenots, whose doctrinal beliefs and religious usages
were mainly in harmuny with those of the Puritans, thouglb
the rigidity and strictness of the Puritan discipline led
many of them afterward to prefer tiie forms and worship
of the English Church. Even the convulsions, innovations,
and relaxation of restraints and morals attendant and con-
sequent upon the struggle of the Revolutionary War, did
not radically transmute or largely impair tlic inherited Puri-
tanism of Massachusetts, in its religious hal)its, jirinciiiles,
or institutions. The foremost of its patriots in the cause
of liberty — Samuel Adams — was through and through,
in spirit and habit of life, in scruples and in observances,
a Puritan. It is to the second quarter of tiie present cen-
tury tliat we must assign the entrance into the life and
population of Boston of those foreign elements which now
hold the mastery here. Expansion, jirosperity, the develof>-
ment of the resources of the country, tlie iutiiMJuction of
tlie factory system, the demands for \igiirous and cheap
labor, the needs of domestic service, and the renaissance
of art, literature, and every form of culture, amusement,
recreation, and enjoyment are all to 1)C recognized as pre-
senting the reasons and occasions for the wonderful trans-
mutation— we cannot call it develofiment — wliich has
been witnessed by those still li\ in'/ on tliis peninsula. The
process has certainly not been "evolution," and it remains
to be proved whether it is a case of the " survival of tlie
fittest." The fatliers had left us a noljle, free, and inviting
heritage. The heritage was as free and inviting — and in
contrast with their former condition and surroundings more
enviable — to the foreigners who have flooded it, as it was
to the natives. The terms of tlie franchise and of the full
rights of citiz.enship were of the most generous laxity ;
and party policy, with its strategies of caucuses and dec-

10 THE PURITAN AGE.

tioii frau(]s, liiivc |iiit oHiccs, jiatroiiapo, and the control
anil use ol the pulilii- tirasiirv in tin; haixJs of those who
in aiiv other count i\ ucjiild ha\L' been aliens.

Breakint:: abi'ii|itl\ iIh' line of rcllection ami remark in
which this snlijcet wcjuld enjruLU' us, I turn to the notice
of sonir of the more striking manifestations of change here.
Some of these may be regarded as legitimate develojiraents
from the old Puritanism, to be referred to the enlargements
of view, the increased intelligence, and freedom of thinking
and acting of those in its direct lineage. But the most
radical and sub\ersive and effective of them all are of
imjtortation from foreign peoples and jirincijiles, habits,
tastes, and institutions.

In not a single one of the many scores of the jilaces for
Sunday worshij) in this city is the old Puritan cix-ed in its
literal rigidness — followed by its discipline m the fellow-
ship— heartily, loyally, consistently accepted and honored.
In the consecrated and unconsecratcd cluirehes and halls
there is an uiichallciiLTcl and |ieacefiil — anil who will pre-
sume to say that it is not jirevailingly an instructive,
edifying, and j)ractically good — dispensation ol religious
and moral teaching and observance, desired and turned to
account by ijelievers in all creeds and in no creeds. Six
synatrogues engage the dexotions of ten thousand Israelites
in our population. The largest and most thronged of the
places of W(jrshi]) arc those of the Roman Catluilics, of
which there was but one in the State at the opening of this
century. The head .'ind the majority of the members of
our cilv goverinuent arc Roman ('atholics of a foreiLTU
stock. Curiously t'liough, the same year which finds an
Iiishman of that creed in the Mayor's ciiair in Boston,
finds a forcign-bdi'ii Itiuuan Calliolic — the lirst since the
Reformation -- u itii llic lionois ol Lord Ma\(ir of London.
Dutifully did our chief municipal magistrate observe tiie
original and I imc-honoreil usage that the organization of
his government, like that of the annual town-meeting,

BOSTON, AND PUBLIC MEETINGS. 11

should be opened with prayer; and the service was duly
and reverently rendered by a priest.

Any one who now or at any future time shall be inter-
ested in noting tlie stages and phases of change and devel-
opment through which this community has passed, will
find most suggestive information in a series of volumes
published by authority of the city government, and edited.
by the Record Commissioners. These, beginning from the
first settlement, rejirjrt to us the proceedings of the author-
ities, selectmen, school committees, overseers of the poor,
of the highways, and of all |)ublic affairs. The most inter-
esting point of view, as giving us instruction ou the sub-
ject now bcfoi'C us, is that we have in those volumes, chro-
nologically presented to us, such striking illusti-ations of
the firm luild whicli I'in-itan methods -and piinciples had
taken in the administration of secular affairs, — all that
concerned the economic, thrifty, and protective welfare oi
the town and its inhabitants. We see that the foremost
of the citizens in character, social [lositimi, and iulluiMice
were invariably ind-ustcd witii tlicse interests, however
trivial in details. And this class of citizens, to wliom
their time and what little of leisure they <'inild ccmimauil
was of the liighcst value, were always found ready to dis-
charge these trusts. Petty, irksome, and vexatious were
many of the matters committed to theiroversight ; but the
responsibility which they tasked was always faithfully, if
not cheerfully, met. True, tiicse wcic the days of small
things, compared with the expansion of our own times ;
but none the less they aff(jrded a field for the e.Kcrcise of
great principles, and for the unchanging rules of rectitude
and duty. And the abiding or lingering sway of Puritan-
ism animated and controlled them. There was a rigidity,
a scrutinizing watchfulness, a severe regard for ecduimiy
and yet a generous exercise of liberality, an ex[ianiieil
fiublic spirit, and always a sense of account;ibility t<i the
iii'diest exactions of integrity characteristic of, if not pe-

12 THE PURITAN AGE.

culiiir to, these nuiiiici[ial mapistraeics. The orif^inal, self-
protective, ne!f-defeiisi\e, lejj;al method of warning out of
the town any undesirable stranger (jf doubtful anteeedents,
and who under any circumstanees iniglit prove a burden or
a nuisance to the community, was continued for more than
a century. Places of doubtful ii'pute for resort, rcxelry,
and idleness were under shar[) o\'ersight. Tlie reckless-
ness and extravagance of outlay of public funds have come
in among us through tlie license of casting the liurdcn
of debt on [losterity. But that is of modern license,
unknown to the fatlicrs. The word " juncate," which
the dictionary uses for " a stolen entertainment," was not
in their civic speech, still less was it recognized in their
habits. It is amusing to note the meagreness of the diet
charged as [laid for by the treasurer during the service of
s]iecial committees.

Now that Civil Service Examinations are in vocrue, it
might lie judicious to rc(|uire henceforward, as the city
government lias printed these proud and instructive rec-
ords of the noble jirinei]iles of their jiredecessors, that all
candidates for niunicijial office should faithfully read them.
In tlie day of hard and small things, the beginnings in
all public provisions — highways, bridges, churches and
schools, mills and forts — certainly inifiose heavier bur-
dens than do later works under the name of improve-
ments. The fatlicrs bore the former ; we lay the charges
of tlie latter on [tostcrity. The General Court in lti4t'i, when
occasion called for it, made this cogent statement : —

" We Bpeiul notliing superMueuslv in luiililiiigs, fe.istings, pen-
sions, pulilif graluitics, dd'nTr.'.' fi-cs, or the like; ii.iy, we are
usli:uneil KuimtiincK at imr peiiiiriousiii'S, but thut we had rattier
ticarc hliaiiic and blame tliaii overliiinlfii tlie people. Sueh as are
ill cliief (iHice aniDiigst us are ccniteiit to live beiieatli tlie honour
iif llieir ]iLu'e.s, that llicy niiglit ease tlie coumiou charge. " '

' Ilut.hinsmi's Ci.llcction of rnpors, p. 20y.

BOSTON, AND PUBLIC MEETINGS. 13

Some of the chancres most obvious to the eye, and moat
significant in their meaning to those whose meniorv takes
in tlie first infusion of a foreign clement into our indige-
nous population, may be noted in their simple aspect of
facts, without reflections or comments upon them. There
has been an enormous increase of the dependent, indigent,
and criminal classes. Dating from the first settlement of
this and of other towns, the authorities, as has been men-
tioned, warned and e.xjielled from it any unwclcume stran-
ger who might become a burden on the industry of others,
or a public nuisance. For more than two centuries each
town had provided a refuge, or poor's farm, for the support
of every forlorn, orphaned, or reduced person who by citi-
zenship or through parentage could claim a " legal resi-
dence" in it. At first, in the influ.x of needy persons from
abroad, they were naturally distriliuted in these refuges.
But their legitimate occupants, who '"had known better
days," complained grievously of such furced coinjianiun-
ship. This compelled the State to provide and maintain
enormous costly institutions for the orphans, the insane,
and the diseased who had no legal residence.

For more than two centuries thr public school .system,
"the boast and glory of Massachusetts," was sustained
to the satisfaction of the citizens, supplying the genera-
tions of both sexes with such education as suited their
needs and condition in life. The methods in which reli-
gion and morality were taught in them met the demands
of parents and guardians. The religious guides of the
incoming foreign element of the population making com-
plaint of this established method in our schools, it was
modified to meet their scruples. Then followed a fresli
complaint from them that the schools were " irreligious
and godless." The priests are now compelling the pa-
rents of their youth, under penalty of discipline, to with-
draw them, and to set up schools of their own. This
subject is engaging j)uijlic discussion that is earnest and

14 THE PDRITAN AGE.

apprcliPiiRivc. Tlic oljjection is, tliat tliis jealously sepa-
rutc inctlioci of f(lucatii)ii of tlic young will tend to impede
I he assimilation of the diverse elements of our population,
wliieh is f^reatly to be desired. There have been many
manifestations of smsitiveness wlien our Irish fcllow-eiti-
zens ari' distinij:uishcd iiy their nationality, as indicating
a race or sectarian prejudice ; yet nioi'e demonstratively
than anv other class of (jur adojjtcd citizens do they kcefi
their nationality before thi' notice of the eummunity.
Considering tlieir alienation of feeling' from England, one
might suppose that the Irish here would heartily enter into
tlie commemoration of that most signal incident in the
patriotic liistory of Boston, on March 17, wlien Washing-
ton compelled the evacuation of the town by the British
army, whicli liad had military possession of it fur a year.
But, no 1 the Irish prefer on tliat day to commemorate
their national Saint, wlio is to their fellow-citizens a
purely mythical character. Their procession, the most
demonstrative annual parade in the city, with its national
emlilems and regalia, has liberty to olistruct the streets;
and the youth of the city are allowed by the Mayor a
holiday fnim their schools, that they may sec the show.
And this in the old Puritan town of Boston !

It is in some of the country towns in Massachusetts, the
planters of which received their grants from the General
Court, that we may trace the most marked change which
has come in with the recent generation. The first condi-
tion of the grant was that the settlers should be under the
care of a comi)ctent and approved Orthud.ix minister. He
was a citizen with others, casting his vote with them ; but
be was the guarilian and good genius of the settlement.
The tenure of his oflice was character and abilitv. with the
conditions of the good-will and approval of his townsmen.
He was not sent and billeted upon them ; he answered
to theii- call to come to thcni. As a husband and a father
he bad a home and all domestic ties. His home and the

BOSTON, AND PUBLIC MEETINGS. 15

homes of his flock made one circle of intimacies and
responsibilities in all sympathies and helpfulness. He
had no official, clerical superior, and it was for his people
only to appoint his means of support and to" receive his
record of his trust. In all that related alike to the
secular and relijrious charges, business, and interests of
the town, all the inhabitants had the disposal of affairs
from the initiative. They planned, built, and furnished tlie
place of worship ; they took the oversight of the poor,
fixed the occasions and seasons for religious observance,
asked counsel from their minister when they wished for it,
intrusted him with their confidences when they pleased to
do so, and differed with him and called him to account
when they had grounds for it. As a man who had received
the best education of liis time, he was to represent among
his people the good cause of lcarniu£r, fi-om its essential
primary elements for every child, on to an oversight of the
best training for professional life of any promising youth
tiiat he might find in the most frugal home.

In contrast with these developed principles and usages
from Puritanism in town, village, and hamlet, we have
set before us now, especially in manufacturing places
thronged with Irish and French Canadian immigrants,
quite a different state of things, especially as regards re-
ligion and education. A foreign celibate priest, with no
local or traditional interest in the scenes of his work, is
sent, uncalled and unknown, by his ecclesiastical superior.
He owes no account and renders none to the people that
he calls his parish. The Curia for his supreme allegiance
is across the sea. lie shares no domestic ties, no parental
feelings ; in tlie Puritan sense he has no home, either for
his flock or for himself. Such solaces and intimacies as
he has must be found among fellow-priests, with tlieir pro-
fessional confidences and secrets. No one of his flock may
bring him under questioning. Their relations to liim are
very like what they are to their physicians and legal ad-

It] THE P0RITAN AGE.

viscrs : tlioy have to receive instnictions and follow pre-
scrifitioriH. T]w\ are apfieaied to and assessed for money
for relicrioiis purposes, but they have nothing' to say as to
its use, for tlie exchequer of the Roman Cliurch makes no
return to the laity. Its laity have no voice in its economical
or professional administration. Its priests may demand ad-
mission to the very secrets of their souls, and it is for the
priests to decide for each layman what is the realm of con-
science and religion over which they have supreme sway.
The withholding:; of the last sacraments is the phostly
thrall over those who fail of spiritual obedience.

Here, certainly, are two fpiite different types of the
Christian ministry. "When Puritanism, even in its reduced
forms, is thus brought into contrast with the ecclesiastical
sway from which it thought to release itself once for all,
the contrast has its significance. The history, from the
beginning, of very many of these towns has been published :
the continuation of it will have many new features.

Without following further into general or detailed con-
ditions the aspects of things around us, marking the amaz-
ing changes from the sway of old Puritanism, we may take
a single subject as significant and ty{)ical of very many of
them. Let it be the observance of the Sabbath, Sunday, or
Lord's Day. Of the whole body of distinctive Puritan
legislation in the support of religion and the Church, there
remains now upon our statute book but a single subject,
which almost from year to year, in its changed relations to
social and civil life, comes up for discussion with a view to
the modification and adaptation of existing laws. It is the
observance of tlie first day of the week, guarded by restric-
tions and penalties. The Puritan legislation on the subject
will come iiefore us in its fit place. Whenever an appeal has
been made for a rela.xation of the old restraints, or for a
larger individual or social freedom on that day, — as for
tlic carrying of the mails, facilities of travel, the transac-
tion of secular business, the opening of museums and

BOSTON, AND PUBLIC MEETINGS. 17

libraries, the allowance of public amusements, — the lovers
of what is sacred in the past, clicrishing its ways through
reverential or traditional sentiments, warmly utter their
pleading protests. They arc met by counter protests against
tiie conserving or reviving the rigid usages of the old
Puritanism. The inference then is that tliat stern type of
religion, witli all its characteristic features and methods, is
antiquated and repudiated. On this subject a middle party,
with a somewhat undehned shape and oflice of mediation,
presents itself. There still lingers and hovers over us from
the past the fond and fragrant beucdictive spell from '• the
blessing of the Sabbath," than which no richer or more
potent iuHuence has mingled in the sum of all earthly
sanctities. The most sacred meniDries and joys of home,
the lyric ballads and essays of our clioicest literature, have
gathered and retain the aroma of tliat itlessing. The once
quiet streets and highways, the hush of noisi', the renewal
which by the law of periodicity comes to man and beast
from rest, the limit on servile toil, the better garli, and the
generous motive that individuals merge thi'ir own jirivatc
liberties in a regard fur a universal good, — tJiese are the
strong resources of argument for that mediating party on
the observance of the Lord's Day. 'Jhey would retain all
that is conservative of good in tliis iidieritancc from the
past, while generously considerate of the concessions to be
made on account of the changed circumstances of society
and the contiicting demands of social life in the present.
It is in debating and deciding what these concessions arc
to surrender, that we are most made to realize how hetero-
geneous in its elements and composition is the population
which accedes in this city to its once homogeneous con-
stituency. "Works of necessity and mercy " is the familiar
phrase which the old laws used as allowed in exemption
from the rigid rule of Sabijath observance. The calling of
the doctor out of the meeting-house during service, a hre-
alarm, or a rally to some case of danger or suffering, covered

2

18 THE PURITAN AGE.

all the indulgences intended in (hat phrase. Scarcely did
it allow of summer or harvest labor in the iields when the
clouds were threatening- But how shall we in these days
and circumstances define works of necessity and mercy,
which liave becnme so multiplied and varied ? It is gen-
erally admitted tliat tlie statutes, in some liberal yet not
lax way, must adjust tliemselvcs by a deference to a senti-
ment which has planted itself strongly, if not devoutly, in
the minds and hearts of all considerate persons ; that an
inherited social safeguard and blessinfr. that might be de-
fined by a great variety of terms, is conditioned for all our
generations upon the perpetuity of the red-letter mark
upon the one day out of seven, assigning to it special uses,
all of which shall have the sanction of law and custom,
on the one single exacted condition that they seek and
serve some form of good, and are restrictive of evil.

It has been with facility and without o])position or re-
monstrance, save from a remnant of old survivors in nar-
row surroundings of ]ilace or fellowshij), that the stern and
gloomy sway of the old Puritan Sabbath was broken. The
morbid austerity and scru]iulosity of their type of pietv
had created for them a rule and standard for the Sabbath
which exceeded in its demands even the letter and s]iirit of
the Bible, — their supreme authority. The Old Testament
gave but [laitial sanction to the Puritan Sabbath, and the
New Testament gives it none whatever. As the old regards
of bugbear superstitions and strained Scripture interpreta-
tions are discreditecl, the Lord's Day is an inliciitance to
be retained, enjoyed, and improved by tiiose whose gain it
will be to preserve it, whose los.< it will be to jiart with it.

From this scai'cely more than a superlleial anil vi'rv
incomplete rex iew of some of the changes, bv time and
tlic succession of seven <ii' eiglit generations, etTected in
tiie town which, through its public meetings, planted and
legislated for this (Commonwealth, let us go back to the
beginnings of our subject.

BOSTON, AND PDBLIC MEETINGS. 19

These pages are, for the most part, concerned with the
procccdinpjs, measures, and results of " public meetings "
held in Boston b}' governing authorities during the ihst half
century of its occupancy by English colonists. There are
many matters of local and of broader historic interest to
be found in the methods and results of their legislation
and administration which cannot be noticed here. The
heritage and the institutiuns which time, with its changes,
has developed from those beginnings ha> e come to engage
the attention of the civilized \v(ji'ld. That fact alone would
make the secd-jilanting, from whiidi has grown such a har-
vesting, worthy of a retrospective study. It has indeed
won to it the keen inquiries and discussions of many well-
trained minds. A mercantile company, formed in the Old
World for trade and colonization here, transported itself
and its Charter, with more or less of legality in the pro-
ceeding, to establish itself with its covenant of [ircjprielor-
ship and its rights of administratiou, to this thru viigin
soil on the edge of a wilderness, washed by the ocean
waters of a fair bay. We are to keep in view from the
start that their j)roecedings would necessarily, to a large
extent, be without the guidance and the limitations of pre-
cedent. There was so much that was original and inde-
pendent in their experiment that they would naturally
be compelled, even perhaps beyond the borders of right
and safetv, to be a law to themsrhes. Here they estal>
lished a form of government, a mode lA rule, a style of
citizenship, and a method of administration such as had
never been put on trial in any [lart or in any previous age
of the world. We have before us a narrative, with epi-
sodes, which though not wholly lacking in the interest of
adventure and enterprise is in the suljstanee of it painfully
trying to the sensibilities of readers, and provocative of
sharp censure and stern indignation. It is a narrative of
a grim and iron rule of bigotry, austerity, and intolerance ;
of a harsh and cruel dealing, not with crime and wicked-

20 THK PUKITAN AGE.

ness, but with wluit witc calli'd hcrosics, — novel, offen-
sivu, and ilanj^crous (ipiiiidiis lield as matters of conscienee.
And wliat furtluT eoni|]licat('.s and embarrasses any fair
dealinir willi tiie sulijrct, is, tliat th(;se heresies were tlicni-
selves Idi'ins (if riuitari iiilcjleranei', — were not jjeaceful
and liarmlcss in ntleranee, but aggressive and turbulent.
What the biunilcrs of Massachusetts did under the prompt-
ings of intolerance and Itigotry has often been told to their
discredit and condemnation ; but why they did it. thnjugh
what instigation of motive, for wliat intent and purpose.',
and bv wiiat mastery and subjection of their own free-will
under an authoi'ity recognized by them as supreme, has
not always been fairly told. It may be that in coming to
a better apprehension of tlie motive and prorafiting of tJieir
enterprise, as found not in any wilful conception of their
own, but in what they hclie\ed to be a divine inspiration,
we may transfer some of our reproach from them and their
acts, and attach our judgment to the delusion which mis-
guidrd them.

As the writer seeks to set forth more fully in tlie follow-
ing ])ages, the founders of Massachusetts attem])ted here a
wholly novel scheme and experiment in civil g(.ivernmcnt.
It was adojited in entire aiul lofty sincerity of [lurpose,
demanding from them first of all several of the highest
qualities of cliaracter, — self-consecration, fortitude, con-
stancy,— and various forms of sacrifice. The novelty of
the Rclieme, and its vital connection witii a ])articnlar re-
ligious creed and type of piety were its distinctive char-
acteristii's ; worldly jirofit, and all nthcr nnindanc cuds,
were subordinated to an iilral (iliject. The e.xprriment
was in a continuous line with nthers which ]ireceded and
have followed it, — alike ideal and j)ractical, in the devel-
opment of social, civ il, and industrial schemes for human
progress. It was cnlitled in that series of e.xpei-iments to
have iiad its tii:d. The es[)ecinl and peculiar cjuality in it
was in thr jilace Liiveii to, and the use made of, the Bible

BOSTON, AND PUBLTC MEETINGS. 21

in legislation and administration, under a joint form of
civil and ecclesiastical order. Tiio opportune time for the
.rial of the experiment came when the Bible was held as
it never had been before, and never has been held since,
not only as sufhcient for the use that was then made of it,
but as authoritatively requiring, by positive divine injunc-
tion, that it should reverently and faithfully be put to
that use.

No thought of what is to us so oltvious in the impracti-
cability of the expicriment seems to have presented itself to
those who put it on trial. The sanction of divine authority
made it obligatory. Begun by one generation, it was con-
tinued into another. It was clung to tenaciously, — we may
even say, defiantly. Two conditions were pre-eminently
requisite for its successful trial. One was, full jiersuasion,
conviction, resolute adherence, and constancy by those
who had adopted it, under all perplexities and opposition.
These were human impediments, while the scheme was
God's ; the issue then was between tlie purpose of Ood
and the resistance of men. This condition wc shall find
eniraged spirits of zeal and courago to meet it. The other
condition was a strong and stern hand of rule over those
who not being partirs to the experiment, were none (he
less to be comjielled by authority, laws, and penalties to
conform to it. And here the experiment was wrecked, —
some may even say, disgraced, brought under contempt,
as it involved opi)ression, harsh and cruel measures, not
distinguishable from spiritual tyranny working through
merciless and inhuman barbarities.

The only claim which the experiment, as we review its
method and working, lias upon our study, our discriminat-
ing judgment and possibly upon our restraint of censure,
is in its devout sincerity of purpose, in the unfaltering
belief of those engaged by it that they were not following
any fancy or hallucination of their own, but were gra-
ciously and potently taken into the service of the Being

'1'2 THE PUniTAN AGE.

wlioiii thov rovorod with a submission that was rather awe
and (Iroad than Idvo,

One may he prompted to ask, Wliat relative place in the
aeries of schemes and experiments wiiich have lielped to
instruct us in civil and politiciii scicnei,' is to be assigned
to this of a I'liritan ('<in;niunwealth '.' We are to study
the trial of it after its failure and utter discomfiture. Its
chief value then for us, as a lesson, is as it bcai's ujjon the
fundamental principles of government. Wiiat have we
come, after all previous trial and theorizinr:, to accept as
the basis of civil government and legislation '! The Puri-
tan found it, as common law, in a IJook containincr tlic
revealed will and commandments of Ood. We may safely
affirm that the failure of the Puritan experiment has dis-
credited that basis, and that it will never again be adopted
or sanctioned. Whatever may be the regrets, the affirm-
ings, or the denials of those whose beliefs are inherited
from the Puritans on having to face tlie following state-
ment, candor requires its ntterance, — tliat mother from
natural nor revealed religion will any peo[ile in Christendom
liencefoi'ward be satisfied to draw their constitutions, laws,
or principles of government. There is much debating the
question whether this or tiiat people make up '' a Chris-
tian nation," and whether we iiave, or ought to liave, ''God
in our Constitution." In vain should we name Ilim in the
(Constitution if He is not in the hearts and minds of the
jirople : if He be there. His name may be omitted from
the {laper. The practices of si>callcd Christian nations,
in their jralousies, diplomacy, oppressions, outrages, and
wars, arc Jiardly redeemed by a complimentary phrase. If
the failure of the Puritan experiment, so sincerely tried,
has taught the world one great lesson, it is that all govern-
ments must Ije, as they really are, administered on human
and mundane principles and sanctions.

I have defined in strong terms, ftnd without qualifica-
tions, what I fullv believe to have been substantiallv the

BOSTON, AND PUBLIC MEETINGS. 23

religious aim, witli its Biblical model and statute-book,
adopted by tiic founders of Massachusetts. Any qualifi-
cations which that statement may require as to the date,
the distinctness of purpose, the avowal of it, the clearness
with which all its conditions were apprehended and ac-
cepted,— and especially the proportion of the whole num-
ber of the first comers liere who were in hearty sympatliy
with it, — will eniraixe attention further on. I ha\e stated
the consecrated aim and scheme as the basis of the enter-
prise, and as masterinir the responsible, confidential, and
controlling leaders and guides of it.

And iiere 1 may frankly avow, witli the reasons which
have persuaded and convinced me in my decision, that I
take .John Winthrop as tiie witness and ex]ionent of the
leading aim in tlic planting and early administration of
this Colonv. lie was for a score of years its chief citizen,
and for eleven years its Governor. Among many men of
lofty, devout, and pure spirits, it seems to me that he was
the noblest and the best, — tlic one of them all to be loved
and honored for religious graces and liuman virtues, for
his fine simplicity of sincerity, and for his grand vigor of
constancy. No writer on our early history has grudged or
failed to pay to liim an exalted tribute. Some of tliem
have dropped censures or strictures upon some traits of
his character and some incidents of his administration
with which I cannot fully .sympathize, and the justire of
which I cannot admit without qualification. Any shadow
cast upon him as sharing in the limitations and supersti-
tions of his time and surroundings is tiiat part, it may be,
of a faithful portraiture which comes from floating clouds,
and not from the rays which illumine cliaracter. In one of
the public squares of this city is a statue of John Winthrop
as the "Founder of Massachusetts," with tin- Bible in one
iiand, and the Charter in the other. Another, a seated
statue of him in Puritan garb, the habit in which he
lived, is in the Chapel of the cemetery of Mount Auburn,

-4 Till-: ruiuTAN agk.

whure now rcjiose tlie aslifs of thousands of tliose of the
liiicaLTi' of the fathers. A tliinl statue of him, one of the
two of its foremost men furnished by several States of
the nation, is in the Capitol at Washin<rton. The public
higliway, tiie cemetery chapel, and the marble halls of the
palatial centre of our government thus distribute and
gather the tributes of [losterity to one tlian whom no wor-
thier of our race ever lived on the eartii. His ^'andyke
[lortrait hangs in the ehamher of our State Senate. His
Journal, or History, from his own liand and pen, is tlie
eai'liest, the most communicative, and the most precious
of our historical relics. We know Jiini niorr thoioutrhly,
more searchingly, in thought, heart, and life, than we do
any one of his contemiioraries. Wlien wc note the serious,
grave, and sober earnestness of Winthrop, the fond and
tender yearnings of his affection and lofty devotion to
wife, children, and friends, we must recognize elevated
and manly qualities which are not to be depreciated hy
the limitations of tem|iorary superstition. In his writinsjs
we meet the utterance of all the jiious emotions and senti-
ments, and all the words and phrases, which have come to
be called rant ; but no considerate person would a[i]ily
that term to anything from his pen, except in the better
meaning of the word, as the ninfjin;} of a devout soul.
There are shocking entries in his Journal in tlic exposure
of vice, follv, and poor, wretched delusions ; but they were
written in a chaste spirit, and will harm only unchaste
eyes and hearts.

Our resjiect for Winthrop is warmly engaged bv the
candor and magnanimity of spirit manifested by liim in the
treatment of even some of th(> most truculent of those who
br(jught [ilausibie or onlv censorious complaints against
liis acts or policy. Tlic render's admiring regard is fre-
quently drawn to him by his modest humility in admitting
liis own mistakes and occasional excesses of a spirit of self-
eonlideiiee. We know of the particulars of the sharp con-

BOSTON, AND PUBLIC MEETINGS. 25

tention wliich lie had with the testy Dudley only from what
he has himself written about it. lu a manly tone he con-
fesses that for some things he was censurable. And when
he records in other cases that opinion and judgment were
not on his side, he adds no plea for self-justification, and
never yields to rancor. We find in his Journal such
avowals as these, in recording some disputatious passages:,
" He had been over-sudden in his resolutions ; " " he did
arrogate too much to himself, and ascribe too little to
othei-s ; " he had dropped " an expression which was not
becomiuu: him, but a fruit of the pride of his own spirit ;"
and liis hope was that he might be " more wise and watch-
ful hereafter." ^ A judicial estimate of character and of a
full and closed career will lay its stress, not upon the frail-
ties which led to error, but upon the nobleness of spirit
which confessed them.

Hutchinson, without nnmin;.'- his authorities,- writes :
'■ Some writers say that upon iiis death-bed, wiien Mr.
Dudley pressed him to sign an order of banishment of an
iieterodox person he refused, saying, 'he had done too
much of that work already.'" So far as the tcstimonv of
that unsavory character Caj)t. Jolin Underliill — who had
stood before Winthrop both in court and in church as
a moral culprit and a heretic — is of worth, it is to the
same efTect. Writing in 1(JG0 to John Winthrop, Jr.,
who refused to approve the severest measures against the
Quakers, Underliill says : " Gife me lefe for your forthcr
incorrigement from percckuchon, to mind you of my fare
well words from your nobell father, of ba[ipi memori, to
me, and hafe taken such imfirschon throg the sfterrit of
God in mee, that I dare not meddel with that pepell [the
Quakers] ; but lefe them to there libberti grantted by the
gud ould Parlement of Eingland." ^ The same valuable

1 Vol. ii. p. 117.

' History of Massachusetts, i. 151.

' Winthroii PiipiTs, 4 Mnss. Hist. Coll. vii. 186.

2{j THE PUIUTAN AfiE.

military ofTiccr, hut dubious citizen and cliMrch-member,
had before written to tlie elder Oovernor Wiiithrofi, as f<jl-
lows: "Sir, give me leave to make a seric)us protestation
lor vou. I have seene Ihatt in you thatt liath confirmed me
tliat you are as deare to God as the ajile of his eye; though
these late passages [the Antinomian] have much stumbled
me, yett I hould you the same as before, as deare to God
as ever, thoujj;h perhaps for the tyme being you were left
to temptation, as Ilezechia, Ac." '

There is a most ]iertinent sug'/estion to be made in refer-
ence to those shocking and revulting details about '• mon-
strous births "' and other dismal occurrences, not needing
closer report here, which the pure and devout-souled Win-
throp entered in his Journal. They had all their signi-
ficance to him solely from the reverent and awe-stricken
point of view in which he regarded them, as direct indica-
tions of the startling judgments of a special providence in
designating offenders and their bold sins. In fact, this is
simply one of the many evidences of his supreme veneration
for the Bible, in which he read of many similar cases of the
judgment of God upon sinners in sudden deaths, startling
calamities, and loathsome diseases. Nor those in the Old
Testament only, but also in the New, — as in the case of
Ilerod (Acts xii. 23), where " the angel of the Lord smote
him, and he was eaten of worms." We may call it stark
superstition in Winthrop, but it was not a finding satis-
faction in such sad tragedies, nor a vengeful temper, that
moved him to record them.

The severest rcHeetions that have been cast upon Win-
tliro]) have been for his loss of poise and equanimity in the
trial of Ann Hutchinson, In that dismal dissension he did
not wholly surmount the jicrsonal aggravations which it
had brought to him. We may well realize how he had
been badgered, ve.xed, and grieved by misconstruction,
and by the pitting against him of a rival whose abettors

' Wiiitlirop rupcrs, 4 Mass. Ilist. Coll vii, 171.

BOSTON, AND PUBLIC MEETINGS. 27

were less lovable than himself. More than any other of
the parties concerned, Winthrop viewed the matter and the
results of Mrs. Hutchinson's schism, when they reached
tlie minds of common peojile, as a muddle of nnintclligible
absurdities, with a mingling of mean personal preferences
and prejudices. The tongue of a woman is the sharpest of
all the weapons with which even the calmest of men in an
encounter of grievances has todeal ; and Winllirfi]i thought
he saw dujilicity and prevarication in tbi; ine.xbausted per-
sistency of that harassed woman. But after all just allow-
ance and abatement, Winthro]i stands as not only the
founder and the real promoter of this Colony, but also as
its wisest, most faithful counsellor, fosterer, and ever loyal
friend, the sincerest, purest spirit of the I'uritan Theocracy.
He met with a clear conscience and a calm dignity all mis-
apprehensions and bulTetings of rivalry from his associates,
and all the temporary cliills of popularity from an incon-
stant but finally a revering C(jnstituency. He sank his
whole inherited and acquired estate in the suf)|iort of the
Colony, so comjjletely, that it had to assume the support of
his infant son after his decease in penury. The pathetic
letter written near his death-chamber, signed by magis-
trates and elders in tender consultation, to be sent by an
Indian runner through the woods to his son in Connecticut,
is a touching and loving trilmte of mourning hearts to his
virtues ami services.' The reference in the Records of the
Court to his death and character is brief, but it is sufiicient.
Some of the Colony's powder had been used without official
authority in volleys at his funeral : '• The Courtc doth tliink
meete that the powder spent on the occasion should never
be required againe, & thankfully acknowledg Boston's great,
worthy, duc'love and respects to the late honored Governor,
which they manifested in solemnising his funerall, whom
wee accompted worthy of all honor." ^ Had he been called

' The letter is given in facsimile in " Life and Letters of John Winthrop,"
vol ii. p. 395. ' Keconls, ii. 270.

28 Tine PURITAN AGE..

upon for that sorvico, Roger Williams would have been the
most wiiliiiL', as well a.s the nio.st pifted, in offering for
Winthrcip — never to liini Imt a friend, though a censuring
iuagistrat(' — the richest and Rweetest (jf cpitapli.s.

In stating, therefore, as 1 have done in .such jiositive
terms, the paramount and constraining f)urpose of the
resjionsililc leaders of the MassacliuRetts Colony, to try an
experiment of government not of tlieir own devising, for
the exercise of tiieir own authority or for llii-ir own tiirift,
but one of which God should be tlie siifireme magistrate
and the Bible the statute book, I rely mainly and with
entire conviction on the rejieated and emjiliatic avowals of
Winthrop, that such was his aim and the aim of his chief
associates. Of this tiie evidence and witnesses will come
before us in the following pages. And I lay stress upon
the distinctive and fundamental point, that they were acting
under the constraint of a divine obligation and covenant,
and not as being at perfect liberty to use tlieir own wit or
wisdom in plans of their own. They fidlowed instructions;
they obeyed commands ; they accepted with loyal reverence
a pattern and model not merely given to but imposed upon
tlirni as literally, in its principles and details, as was the
Jewish Commonwealth founded and administered on in-
spired directions to Moses. If this view be correct, as for
myself I fully believe that it is, then the responsibility of
tlie Puritan authorities for the practical working of the
experiment is certainly, to a degree, qualified. They could
say, as in fact they did say, to many victims of tlieir severe
discipline, " You arc not simply withstanding us, lircaking
our laws, defying our authority, — you are rebelling against
God; and as we have put ourselves under Ilis rule and
statutes, we intcnij lo hnlil yon to the same subjection."
In the forecast of our great civil convulsion the pica of
obedience to " the liigher law " was advanced by those who
set at nought civil statutes and ordinances. The Govern-
ment neither recognized that " higher law " itself, nor

BOSTON, AND PUBLIC MEETINGS. 29

would allow its citizens to prefer it for their following.
But the Puritan magistrates did not only accept, they
revered, that higher — the highest — law themselves ; and
one of its requisitions on them was to com{)el other people
to obey it. It would follow, therefore, that those who cen-
sure and condemn these Puritans should go below their
bigotry, austerity, and severity, and challenge them for'
their credulity, their folly, even their impii/ty, in cnmmit-
ting themselves to a belief and covenant their allegiance
to which would compel them to unjust and barbarous
dealings with their foUow-men.

Before proceeding further in the dovclopment of the
scheme and experiment here put on trial, and following it
into the processes and mrasures of a stern rule whicii make
our Puritan auTials so unatti';ictive and even repulsivr to
many who have studied them, the writer of these pages
would avail himself of the privilege of stating distinctly
his own aim and purpose, to which he will endeavor sti-jctly
to confine himself. His sole iutriit is to narrate histori-
cally, with but little of criticism or censure, and nothing
of advocacy or vindication, the incidents and proceedings
attendant and consequent upon the formation and aijininis-
tration of a Bil>lical form of government in Massachusetts.
Often enough will occasion force itself upon a reader,
prompting him to comment censoriously and even l)itterly
upon the severities of the Puritan rule. The reader is free
to make these criticisms ; the writer will try for liiniself
to restrain the expression of them : his purpose is faitliful
and candid narration, not criticism or judgment. Such as
have written upon the early history of Massachusetts with
a view of setting forth the principles and measures of its
government in the light of its contemporary era, and of
allowing the Puritan convictions and purposes to have a
fair presentation, have been very imjustly charged with a
championship of them, with palliating their severity and
intolerance, and defending them against the reproaches and

30 THE PURITAN AGE.

jud;^'iiicnts pronoiincfd upon tlieni. More common, on the
otluT side, lire tlie irvL' I'Xpri'Hsions of contempt, of Ijarsh
inxective, and even of abliorrence, wliich have been visited
oil tlic I'liritan rule, — as our early niissioiiarics to India,
Ciiina, and Japan sent home liideous idols as symbols of
the wIkjK' religion and life of those countries. It is enoug-h
to say that no intelligent and candid person of our own
times, whose ojiiuion is of any worth or weifrht, would
undertake to vindicate the Puritan jiolicy as [iraeticable,
reasonable, or righteous. The prublcm to ije dealt with is
simply this: The scheme jnit on trial liere was one that
offered itself in utmost sincerity and loftiness of purpose
to a company of men for their own faithful and heroic
acceptance, at whatever cost of zeal, sacrihce, and self-
deniah The integrity, piurity, and devotion of the [irime
agents in the scheme is beyond all ipiestion. The scheme
itself, in its own age, so far from seemiutr impracticable
and sure to involve oppression and injustice, — as at its
very first view it appears to us, — presented itself as one
that carried with it a divine obligation and command that
it should be put on trial, with earnestness and resolution.
So far away are we from the tone of thought and the use
of woi'ds characteristic of the Puritans, that we may hardly
apprehend the idea, which was none the less in their minds,
tlwt the scheme they were putting on trial here was not
theirs but (iod's.

The only possible attraction which an historical student
in these days can (ind in I'ehearsing the policy and rule of
Puritanism in early Massachusetts, and the mily |-clief of
which he can avail himself in facing its repelling features,
is ill tlie attemjit to trace the chronological and philosophical
relations <i[ Puritniiism in the ilexelojiment of theories, be-
liefs, and experiments ill human society and in iio\ eminent.
If one who has hut a siiperlicial knowledge and apprelien-
sion of the [irinciplcs and sjiirit of I'uritanism is ilisiiosed to
pronounce u]ion their rule that they must ha\e been inborn

BOSTON, AND PUBLIC MEETINGS. 31

inquisitors and fiends of cruelty, he must be left free to hold
that opinion or advised to enlighten it. The writer will here
frankly anticipate the statement of his own strong convic-
tion— to be subsequently more fully set forth — that the
Puritans were ill-guided and misled by their estimate of,
and way of using, the Bible. Let it be allowed — for in
rea.son no one will deny the proposition — that in their age
and under their circumstances they held, and had reasons
satisfactory to themselves for holding, that the Bible was
the statute book of God for the rule of human life, and
offered the only means of man's salvation. Influences
which had long been working in the currents of thought,
and the rejiudiation of the authority of church and priest-
hood, had as a substitute brought the Bible into supreme
and well-nigh idolatrous regard, as the sole means nf com-
munication between God in heaven and men on tiie earth.
How the Puritans formed their e.\alted estimate of it and
to what uses they apjilird it, will by nml by in\iti' uur
attention. I can but repeat now the statcuu'nt, even at tlic
risk of shocking some readers, that the Puritans were be-
guiled into the worst of tlieir errors of policy, bigotry, and
intolerance, by tlieir belief in and their attempt to follow
the teachings whicli they found in the Bible. A single
illustration of what is meant in this frank statement may
be ofTfied here. Everything in the Bible had to thi'm the
inspiration and infallibility of (iod. In that book are these
two positive prohibitions: "Thou slialt not suffer a witch
to live" (E.\. .\-.\ii. IH) ; " Tiiere shall not he found aiiioug
you a witch" (Deut. xviii. 10). Belief in witchcraft is an
e.xtinct delusion for all intelligent and enlightened jier-
sons ; they do not hesitate to i)runounce it impossible that
a man or woman should entci' into a co\enant wilh the
Devil, who on iiis part should invest them with an intenial
power of mischief. Those who seek to conserve anything
of the literal authority of the Bible interpret th(jse f)as-
sages, not as positively warranting a belief in witchcraft.

;52 THE PDKITAN AGE.

liiit as intci'dii^tijiL!: all prcti'iKlfrs to necromancy or tlie
'• lilui'k art." Jltit tliu i'lirilans — ami, for that matter,
all who liad the name liclicf as theirs ahout the Bible —
took no sueli lihcrtie.s with its letter and teachinfr. Tliey
helieved it to he as possihlr ior a man or a woman to
enter into a covenant witli the Devil as it was for them
to enter into a covenant with (j(jd. Mark the words of
that hiph anthoritv in EiiL'lish law, .Sir William IJlackstone,
written nearly three-qLiarters of a century after the last
trial of a witch in New KnL'land, tliongh such trials still
continued in Europe. IJlackstone wrote : " To deny the [los-
sibility — nay, actual existence — of witchcraft and sorcery
is at once flatly to contradict the revealed Word of God in
various passages in both the Old and New Testaments."

The inane assertion, so often flippantly rc[)eated, that the
Massachusetts colonists came here to seek and to provide a
lield for the enjoyment of liberty of conscience, and then
proved faithless to their profession by securing the riglit
for themselves and denying it to others, is simply false to
all the facts of the case. What is now really meant iiy the
phrase '' lil)erty of conscience " was something which those
I'uritans regarded with shuddering abhorrence. It might
with much more truth Ijc said that the leaders of the colony
came licrc to be rid of the liberty of conscience, which was
working and showing its fruits in England, as will ajipear
on our future ])ages. Nor is it an atlequate interpretation
of their errand here to say that they were seeking liberty
even for their own consciences. That liberty was already
jiliMlgcil and fettered, — |iut under bonds and limitations;'
il was held in subjection to a stern and exacting rule of
life and duly, found not in their own thinkings and will-
iiigs, liut in the " Word of (Jod." This com[)lete abnega-
tiiin of the |iri\ilege and license which we associate with
lilierty of conscience, must be kept in mind in nil our
rcailing about the beliefs anil doings of these I'uritans.
Fallen and wrecked as in their belief the nature of man

BOSTON, AND PUBLIC MEETINGS. 33

was, they would not entertain the thoup;lit tliat any one,
however earnest he might be, could find his rule witliin
his own resources of thinking and believing. They read
the sentence repeated several times in the Book of Judges,
that in the lack of any supreme authority " every man did
that which was right in his own eyes," as equivalent to
saying that he did what was wrong in the eyes of every-
body else. It may thus appear that a championship of
Puritan legislatidn and administration, leaving nothing
weak or defective in it, would involve a defence of tlieir
estimate of and way of using the Bible. One who has
faith and disposition for that argument may undertake it ;
it is not intended here.

The first object of a government established in civil so-
ciety, allowed to be alike needful and lawful, is to provide
for its own security and iieace. Kcfiectinii would at once
suggest what e.\[ierieiice has so abundantly illustrated, —
that this aim and function of government, instead of pre-
senting at any time fi.xed and permanent conditions for its
discharge, must be constantly adjusted to changing circum-
stances. Tlie question, always a practical one for discus-
sion and decision, is, lldw much of individual liberty must
bf denied or restrained fur the common safety and welfare ?
In other words, we have to ask. What portion of the whole
range, action, and use of human life — beginning even
with tiie holding and utterance of opinions and beliefs,
and including private conduct, habits, all individualities
of character, use of time, relaxations, amusements, and
self-indulgences — can rightfully be brought under the sur-
veillance and control of civil law, or may safely be exemf)t
from its oversight? In no civilized community which has
a continuous history in its progress and development can
this question be opened, discussed, and traced through more
striking and interesting phases of its practical trial than
through the two and a half centuries of Massachusetts.

Tiie curious fact is at once presented to our notice that

3

34 Till-: PURITAN ACE.

civil povcrnmcnt on llif soil of Massacliusctts began with
the very utmost strctcli of restraint upon every exorcise of
the lilicrtv of the imli \ iijiiul, ami lias i)een iirouglit on by
(lie (irvciopnicnt of cii'cunistanccH to the utmost indulL'^cnce
of firi'doiii — siinie tliinl< e\on to a danperous laxity — in
looscninir fli^it ii'straint Ijy law. If one was concerned to
trace in details and stages tliat [irocess from restraint to
laxity in the relations between law and individuals, the
records and the statute book 'of this State would furnish
him with exhaustive materials. Legislation and govern-
ment here, enforced by the sanction and approbation of
those whom the fu'st, and ever since the most honored, of
our governors called the wisest ami the best, though the
fewest,' began with the maxinunn of control, interdiction,
and exaction exercised over each individual inhabitant.
Admitting, evidently grudgingly, that it could not interfere
with opinions and beliefs privately held, it positively, and
with penalties, interdicted the utterance of them in any
way of dissent or protest against those which authority
had pronounced to be ricrht and true. The acting accord-
ing to these individual dissents of belief and opinion
was visited by a gradation of intiictions even up to capital
punishment.

There was no incident, circumstance, or experience of
the life of an individual, personal, domestic, social, or civil,
still less in anything that concerned religion, in which he
was free from the direct or indirect interposition of public
authority. Mis civil rights depended u])on his acceptance

* In a If'ttor written liy Winthrop to Hooker — not now cxt.Tnt. but con-
tcmponncously qiioti'il — in reference to the establisliment of novemment in
Coiinectii'ut, Winlhrop snys : "The beat pnrt of n coninuinity is nlwnys the
lexst; and of thiit h'ast part the wiser nro still less." Another equally strong
Btiitemint of tlie (lovernor is tlii.s: " Democraey is amonfi most civil nntions
(iri'oiinted the meanest nnil worst of nil forms of government, . . . nnil histoiies
reeciril that it Imth always been of lca.st continuance and fuUesl of troutiles."
(Life and ]>etters, ii. 427.) Yet. under hia lead was born a Commonwealth
the eompleteat of democracies.

BOSTON, \NTi rUBLIC MEETINGS. 35

of a covenant of faitli and fellowship in a church with a
formulated system of doctrine ; and in that fellowship he
subjected himself to a rule of discipline additional to the
secular code which bound him to obedience. If he could
not obtain memliershij) in a church, or preferred to remain
outside, he was none the less taxed for its support, and
mulcted if he did not attend regularly upon its teaching
and worship. There was no secrecy allowed for his home
and domestic privacies. If husband and wife preferred to
live apart, or were resigned to having an ocean flow between
them for any extended period of time, they were reckoned
■with by an inquisition, and compelled to an ''orderly dis-
posal of themselves." There was nut a child in any jiousc
that was not also a ward under public puardianshi]i to
make sure of the faithful performance of jiarcntal duty.
A fractious and rebellious child might l)y law be brought
to the gallows. Men and women were watched and dealt
with if apparently living beyond their means or station,
or with no visible and profitable " calling" or occupation,
or if idling, gossiping about, or giving the least suspicion
of scandal. Sumptuary laws forbade gay or luxurious
ijpparel, lascivious freedom of manners, and light speech,
especially in those of the humbler sort. All " afTaii-s of
the heart" in voung peojile must be gravely laid before their
elders. From sunset of Saturday to sunset of Sunday were
solemn Salibath hours, during which all noise must be
hushed, all toil, and especially all worldly pleasure, must
cease. No strolling was to be allowed in street or field,
no social visiting. During the whole Puritan era there
was no [ilace for a jjublic game or amusement. All revelry
and carousing were prohibited. Tiie only chance for any-
thing like rollicking and fun was in connection with mili-
tary trainings, though these began and ended with prayers.
The first indulgences which persevcringly asserted them-
selves at the College Commencement season it was vainly
attempted to arrest in their development by an interdict

"G THE PUniTAN AGE.

of " pliimcakc " on tlic occasiun, primly enforced by a sup-
plementary edict apainst those who " went about to evade
it " by introducing " i)lain cake." Ilouse-raisings and
harvestings gave vent for the repressed inifiulses of tlie
elders ; corn-huskings, in the jdaces and materials of them,
afforded o])f)ortunitie8, always liowever " on the sly," for
the irrepressible vi\acities of the young.

Obvious enough to us is it that this Puritan experiment
of government, as making the magistrates the interpreters
and representatives of the divine will and authority, in-
volved elements of spiritual tyranny and the sufipression of
soul liberty. But it was not so to them, nor would they at
once have admitted that the ill-working of their rule dis-
credited its sovereignty. In the four episodes under their
administration, to be rehearsed in these pages, we shall
find that their severities were exercised upon two quite
different classes of offenders. One of these were tres-
passfirs, intruders, who not liaving any proprietary rights
in the Company, not freemen or citizens, could not claim
protection, indulgence, or privilege, but might be disposed
of by lioing ordered out of the jurisdiction. < >f this class
was Roger Williams, who was not a member of the Com-
pany, nor a citizen with the franchise. So also were the
missionary Quakers, regarded by the authorities as tramps,
or vagabonds. This class of ficrsons, the Puritans argued,
fiad no right to comjilain of the laws, because they were
free to find release from them bv going elsewhere. More
serious, however, was the case when they had to deal with
quite another class. These were full partners and jiro-
[jrictors in their enterprise, enfranchised citizens, vowed
and pledged to one another under the same religious cove-
nant, full believers in the princi]iles of the Theocracy,
with their homes, their property, their kinships, and all
their affections and interests identified with the commu-
nity. Among those f;rose dissent and variance about some
doctrinal beliefs and religious usages, breaking the unity

BOSTON, AND PUBLIC MEETINGS. 37

of the faith and the uniformity of discii)linc. Such as
tliese were the Antinomians and the Baptists. In dealing
with these the Puritan administration was put to the se-
verest trial, and proved to be utterly hostile to soul liberty,
intolerant, and sooner or later intolerable.

These exposures, however, were to be reached by experi-
ence, not anticipated. Nor were they to be at once accepted
as rightful and not avertible, till an effort and a struggle,
however painful and ineffective, liad been made to bring
the whole power of tlie Theocratical government to sus-
tain its legislation. Do not the resolution, the persistency,
even the defiant blinding of their own eyes t<> tlie distress-
ing consequences of their measures, move us to recog-
uizc the loyalty of tlie magistrates to their own covenanted
obligations? Certainly tlieirs was no sl^in-deeji, su])erficial
attachment to their principles. Tliese had struck down
into conscience and faith, and would have been fictions
and follies had they not been fougiit for. Only an actual
demonstration of the impracticability of their scheme, and
that demonstration enforced by externally disabling them
from persevering in it, could effect its discomfiture. Con-
scientious errors in belief and practice i)ring with them
their own penalties ; and these have a self-corrective iiiHu-
ence. Very little satisfaction or justice is there in visiting
our censure or contcmiit on those who in the light — or
rather the darkness — of their own times were beclouded
with delusions and falsehoods from which the progressive
illuminations of our age, to which the wisest of us have
individually contributed so little, but of which we all enjoy
the results, have released us. Truth and freedom advance
by the interlocking of the largest and the smallest wheels
of the mechanism of time. If our laments and reproaches
must be pronounced upon those who have been the agents
of error, dissension, and discord in any age, we must be
sure to go so far back as to reach as near as possible to
the original offenders. It would be some satisfaction, for

38 THE I'UlllTAN AGE.

fxainplr, if WO could Ruininon before us as culprits some
of the earliest, the most aneicnt, and conspicuous agents of
this mischief, — say, for instance, those who planned and
began to build the Tower of Baljel for the avowed intent of
circumventing (Jod. On them wc might charge the sources
iif all the ills ami discordances tliat have followed the
Ijullled attemjits of men to woik in liaiinony, with consent
of purpose and a common plan. Those thwarted builders,
falling out in tlieir j)lans, and by the confusion of their
speech no longer able to imderstand one another, are re-
sponsible for the long and infinite succession of embar-
rassments and ditlicidties, not only about words, but about
meanings and ideas. It is they who are blamable for tlie
confusion of languages, the need of translators and inter-
preters, the verbosity and tautolofry of legal documents
and litigation, and the misunderstandings in cou\ersation
and correspondence.

The Massachusetts Puritans acceded to their place and
stage in this development of truth struggling to outgrow
error. We can in part understand and interpret our own
age. But if we wish candidly -and faiiiy to understand
tliem, we must not throw back, two and a half centuries
the standards of intelligence and judgment of our own
time as ajiplicable to them. Amid the resources and appli-
ances, the comforts and luxui'ies, of our own mode of life
we may sometimes, turning from the records which the
fathers have left us, and with the easy help of the imagina-
tion, fall into musings upon their external lot and expe-
riences. The contrasts will be strong and strange. Even
in their natives country there had been nmch of rudeness
and hardness in their physical, social, and domestic condi-
tions. But for the first geniration here how numerous
were the wants and needs, Ikiw deficient the resources and
supfilies ! A grim wilderness environed them, witli real
and visionary dang(-rs in its dark shadows. Marshes,
morasses, unbridged streams, and devious trails made in-

BOSTON, AND PDBLIC MEETINGS. 39

tercourse difficult and all travel tedious. The numerous
inventories left to us of household goods, of farm imple-
ments, and of apparel are often amusing illustrations of
simple tlirift, and of the frugality, paucity, and rudeness of
their furnishings, which still were of such relative value as
to be carefully appraised. The tortures of the medical and
surgical practice of those days were fearful for endurance.
Our light foot-gear and water-proof protection for snow-
storms and tempests found substitutes for them in boots
of hide smeared with grease, and doublets of leatlier which
dranl< in the water, so that they had to bo cast aside as the
weight increased. The spoils of the hunter und safety
from the Indian foe were won by the long pun, supported
by a " rest," and fired by a match-lock. What would the
housewife and the forest-traveller of those days have been
ready to give for a bunch of fiiction-matches, the ])rice of
which for us is one cent ! The lack of any currency, save
Indian shell-peage, caused all trafilc tu be liy barter of
produce or labor at shifting values. Tlie entire lack of all
the delights of intellectual intercourse and of literature,
save those of tlie most lugubrious cliaractcr, must have
had a most depressing influence upon the spirits of those
who wore so intently Tjrooding over dismal tlieological
problems.

Now, it never occurs to us to blame those whose time
and conditions of life subjected them to these external
limitations and hardships 1 we simply commiserate them,
while wc complacently enjoy our own often unappreci-
ated resources. Can we not indulge some of the same
commiserating but uncensorious sentiments toward those
who were two or three centuries before us in the hard,
slow tasks of delving in the mines of intellectual, moral,
and religious trutli '( Unhappily, all men and all things in
this world, at least, are judged by tlieir faults. If we our-
selves hope for a more considerate or a more lenient judg-
ment at another tribunal, we ought to give the benefit of

40 TIIK PURITAN AGE.

it to those wliom wc Ijriiij,' from tlic distant past to lio tried
bv ourschrs. 'J'iiere are Kome of freiierous and tolerant
minds, even under our severest conti'mpt of bi;:(jtry and
utmost deliverance from it, tlirou^Hi lilteralitv and radical
freedom, who will try at least to distiiipuisli dcvoutness
and earnestness of jiurpose, in eonsecrating themsehesto
a sacrificial work, though it presented itself clouded in
error and delusion.

The I'uritan I'ule has been almost exclusively censured
for the severity with which it bore upon those outside of
and hostile to its covenant. But one who is familiar with
its internal and secret workinpcs can hardly fail to notice its
restless, morbid, and alflictive inlluence, even upon its most
loyal and devout disei]iles. Its strain np(jn liuman nature
was intense, rigid, and unrela.xing. Fidi/lily to the cove-
nant rule was constantly re(|uiring more and more of con-
straint, suggesting self-re]>roacliing dreads of a falling
away of faith and zeal. To have f(jund any cheering,
radiant delight in their communings and conferences, they
must have been trained to conceptions like those which
that logical Calvinist Jonathan Edwards ha'd reached,
when lie set forth that among tlu' r|uulities of the happi-
ness of the rciJcemed would be the satisfaction of witness-
ing the suflerings of the damned. Whence, then, came
the sincerity, the earnestness, and constancy of the Puri-
tans'.' 'J'hroucrh that very able and profoundly thoughtful
work of Mr. Lccky, on the " Rise and Influence of Ration-
alism in Europe," runs the sad and de[iressing strain, in
assei'tion and e\ idence of the statement, that errors con-
nected with religion have had vastly more jiower over
human lieiuLrs than its grandest and most illuminating
truths. Jiis line of jirnof f(n- his assertion niav be rcaiiilv
conceived, lieginning with the most grovelling and be-
sotted su|ierstitions, and following down all false and
ci-aven dreads which have enslaved and torm<'ntc(l human
iicings through delusions, crcdulilies. and clouded imairina-

BOSTON, AND PUBLIC MEETINGS. 41

tions, he shows how the tlirall and sjicll of sway which
they have exorcised over men lias been measured by their
foulness, their falsity, tlieir unreality. Men have been
willing to suffer and bear and do the most, in the name
of religion, for what was most unworthy of tiieir sacrilices.
The hook-swingers of India, the immolators and victims
of human offerings, ascetics of every type, pilgrims, self-
flagellants, monks, nuns, hermits, and also Puritans, have
graduated their zeal by the form and pliasc of error
which have beguiled them. And Mr. Leeky presents, as
the converse of this sad recital, the chilling and disheart-
ening view, that the effect of all enlarging, expanding,
elevating, and lilieralizing tenets of religion is to qucncli
enthusiasm and earnestness, to induce apatliy, sybarit-
ism, self-indulgence, and to repress many U'lblr impulses.
Happily his lament is subject to this very serious (Hiaiili-
cation, whicli relieves its dismal burden. Superstitions,
delusions, and falsities, accepted as religious beliefs and
prompting to actions of obedience conformed to them, liave
indeed liad a more constraining power over men tlian have
lofty and liberalizing truths substituted for them. Ijiit
this power has not been a power for good ; rather has it
been a power for evil, working fatefully and malignantly
on the f)assions of men, clouding their intelligence, i)er-
verting their natuial liinnan instincts, and enslaving tliem
to mean and debasing practices. Enthusiasm, earnestness,
full sincerity, and painful self-inflictions may prove the
power that lias had sway over men through these supersti-
tions, credulities, and delusions ; but the mere potency of
their influence in no way relieves its dismal workings.
And as to the converse statement held before us by ilr.
Lecky, that emancipation from these religious errors, by
enlarged, liberal, and rational views, seems to reduce earn-
estness and enthusiasm, to foster laxity and .self-indulgence,
— one may well ask if truth, when substituted for falsity in
religious tenets, does not displace false and baneful super-

42 THE PUItlTAN AGE.

Ktitions, not merely to Iwivu the lie^rt and miii(J (Mii|)ty of
all (|iiickcniiiLr activity and fervors, liut to fill the \aeancy
with cra\iii;j:s lor sonietiiing worliiy of belief and loyal
service ? Liberalism and rationalism in reli;:ion ha\e cer-
tainly |ini\fd (lie I'lliriency ol their p(jwei' (j\er men iu
having; released them from the thrall ol poor and cra\cn
superstitions, in breaking galling fetters, in lighting up the
chambtMs of thought and imagination, and, though still
leaving the dee|) mysteries of existence in shadow, substi-
tuting hiipc and trust for gloom and despair.

Nor is it to be vv(jndered at, still less gi'ieved over, if the
ix'lief found in liberal and rational views, dis[ilacing cre-
dulities and superstitions, reduces tlie intensity of belief,
of self-sacriiiee for visionary ends, and relaxes the con-
straint uj)on personal freedom, even to the borders of
self-indulgence. Religion, in its deeper and most serious
influences, finds its opjjortunity of power over individuals
in trying and sonowful and bereaving experiences ; and
so in companies of human beings, times of persecution, of
endui'ance, of exile, and of cnterjirises of grave moment
repress all lighter sentiments, and give to life and effort a
sombre tone and aspect. The heart resumes its cheer
when these restraints are withdrawn, as the rustic whistles
when he has cleared the dark woods or jjassed the ghostly
grave-yard. The grievous complaints and regrets which
lill the sermons of tlie ]ireachcrs in Massachusetts a cen-
tury after the settlement, over the decay of the carlv piety
and the decline of the ancient fervor, are simply lugubrious
comments ui)on, instead of grateful recognitions of, the
release of beliefs and life from the gloom and severities,
tlic bugbears and delusions of the earl\- age. Further on
in tln'se j)ageH we shall have (o admire the heroic and
high-|iitclied fervors of constancy, even to the scaffold,
with which the missionary Quakers bore their testimony ;
and we shall note how large a part of that testimonv, with
the builetings which it brought upon them, consisted in

BOSTON, AND PUBLIC MEETINGS. 43

oddities and extravagances of conduct which had no vital
connection whatever witli their noble and illuminating
principles. But mark how one of their writers, glowing
with the old spirit, mourns their degeneracy just one
hundred years after their first coming to Massachusetts.
He thus draws a censorious contrast " concerning the
difference between the former Quakers, that suffered Per-'
secutions, and these in this day " : —

" If we may know them by their Fruits, they were two manner
of People : the tirst often going to Meeting Houses and bearing
a godly testimony after the Speaker had done [not always waiting
for that, however] ; also Teaching and Exhorting at other imblic
places, for whicli they suffered much Persecution, which they took
joyfully, being upheld by the Power of God. And these, only
holding Meetings of their own in a formal way, as other Profes-
sors do; having a form of Godliness, and not the Power and Life
thereof, as the suffering Quakers had ; minding eartlily things,
being adulterated and living in the friendship of the World, which
is enmity with God. So these, not having the spirit as the first
Quakers had, are no more to be compared with them than a dead
Tree may be compared to a living Tree." '

Which signifies, that when the Quakers, losing their origi-
nal fervors, ceased to annoy other people, and quietly pur-
sued their own way of life, they became degenerate and
dead.

In following the tracks of tlie early navigators to our
side of the great ocean, we note their long voyages, through
tempests, fogs, and ice-iiarrier.s, in their cramped vessels,
with salt food and foul water, and watch them, as witliout
charts, save such ns tliey make themselves, they lie-to and
send off the shallop to feel their way through reefs and
soundings. They were the pioneers of passengers in the
shuttles which now cross the seas in a week with their

' " An addition to tlii; book, entitled ' The Sjiirit of the Martyrs revived,' "
by Joseph Bolles.

44 THE PURITAN AGE.

luxuries and pleasurc-Heckcrs. Chemical science keeps the
rectii'd of its votaries who have been smothered or blown
up by their own gases ; medical science shows us a long
trial of experiments for killing or curing. All along
through the agrs we can trac(^ the lines, divided and con-
trasted, drawn bv those who in the profoundest sincerity
of earnest conviction recei\ed as the intensest realities
what to us have not the interest even of traditions. The
same process is realized in many extended human lives,
and we call it one of disillusioning.

We are t(j trace this process as illustrated in the Puritan
experiment here. There arc many facts which might be
adduced to pro\e that only the iron liand of a stern rule
and discipline could have carried the colony over the ven-
tures and risks of its beginning. It is not worth any one's
time or skill to open special ]jlcadings for the limitations,
excesses, or severities of the Puritans. A portion of them
may be accounted to exigencies of time and circumstance.
If beyond this it comforts any one to visit u{ion them
objurgatory cfiithcts, he is free to do so ; the doing it
may relieve his own feelings, and his blows will fall upon
insensate and unrcvcnging victiuis.

We are now, after introducing the actors with their
principles and purposes, to review a stern and tragic period
of history. My own sensitiveness of nerves, and resources
and allowances of symjiathy and tolerance liavc been so
heavily taxed by much that I liave liad to read and think
about in jireparing tlicse pages, that I shall not apologize
or ask pardon for anything in them that may wound or
offend others.

II.

THE GOVERNOR AND COMPANY OF THE
MASSACHUSETTS BAY.

In view of the outcome of the experiment put on trial
by the founders of Massachusetts, in sottinc: up here a
Commonwealth patterned after a IJihlical miMlel,a question
presents itself to us equally intercstinL' and important in
our judcrment of their motives and of their scheme. The
question is, whetlier at the start, before coniinj; liitlicr,
they had the intent in their minds, essentially and suli-
stantially matured, witli a plan and method for accomplish-
ing it ; or wliether the scheme was developed iiy stages, as
new impulses moved them and new moans and opportunities
were offered to be used hy them. In tryinp to dispose of
the alternative views here sugjzested, we shall have to trace
the process by which what was orifrinally orp-aiiizcd in
England as a company for pursuing objects of trade in this
Bay, became transformed into an agency for establishing
a Commonwealth in which religion should predominate in
civil affairs. In tracing this process we shall have to note
that the transfer of the patent and the setting up of ad-
ministration under it on this soil were first {)rumi)ted by
religious motives coming in to intiuence the chief movers
in the enterprise, and that these religious motives steadily
acquired the ascendency.

The territory included in the Massachusetts Bay patent
had been at the disposal of the Council for New England.
After having been held by various individuals and asso-

40 THE rURITAN ArjE.

ciatos ns pranteos and [irnjirictors, it was transferred to tlif
( liiv('i-nor and (Idnipany of Massaclmsetts l]ay. Orifrinally
there were but six grantees ; of these, only Ilniiiphrey and
Kniheott apfiear in our hical liistorv. Thi'se six admitted
additional associates as nienihers of theii' (,'oni[iany, and
tliroufh (he inthience of friends at Court the Comjiany
oht, lined a roval ehartei- in lf;2H-'2rt. P^ndicott was sent
«illi <'nni|Kini(ins, ministers, and servants nf the ('oin[ian\'
to estah'iish a local p-overiiinent liere, in siihordination to
that in iMiLdand ; he was fuinislied with a eopy of the
charter, and received advice and orders fi'om his superiors.
We can ti'ace on the records of the ('onifiany nearly every
staue and incident in the councils and motives which led
to the transfer of the fiatcnt and government. Where
there is obscurity, light C(3nies from other sources. The
profiosition for removal, however it may have lieen privately
agitated, was first made by the Governor rCradock) at
a meeting of the Company July 20, 1629. In the debate
upon it the seriousness of the proposition was realized, and
the decision was deferred. The memlicrs jiresent were de-
sired " pri\ately and seriously to consider thereof," to set
down each his reasons, to be reduced afterward to heads;
meanwhile " they arc desired to carry this business secr.ctlv,
that the same be not divulged." August "28 a special meet-
ing of the Company was held to consider the ]iroposi-
tion ; committees were designated to weigh the reasons
on either side, and to present the results on the morrow.
August 29, reports having been listened to and considered,
the ipiestion was jiut as to transfer of ])atent and govern-
ment, " soe it may be done legally." " Erection of hands"
showe(i"the general consent of the Com|ianv"in favor.
September 29 an oi-der was passed "to take advice of
learned counsell whether the same may be leixally done
or noe."

Tliei-c is no record as to any consultation of counsel or
of advice gi\en on this point. Hence it lias long passed

GOVERNOR AND COMPANY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 47

current in the history and in incidental notices of tlicse
important proceeding's, that without a shadow of lef;;aiity,
and in daring contempt of antliority, the Company surrcj)-
titiously stole away from England with its patent to set up
an unlicensed authority on the soil of New England, — thus
beginning that series of usurpations and wrongs which were
matters of complaint and hearing at Court, and wliich have
been discussed in charges and defences by our historians.

This imputation has been satisfactorily set aside. Among
a mass of valuable family and public documents which came
to light after long oblivion in 1860, liclonging to tlie Win-
throps, was a very remarkable pa(ier written bv the lirst
Governor, in which he positively and distinctly states that
when the charter was in j)reparation it was snught " to keepe
the chief Government in the hands of the ('()mi>any rcsid-
ingc in England, and so this was intended; and witii much
dirticulty we got it abscinded."' This crfectually dis[)0ses
of a plausible charge, and accounts for the atisencc in tiic
charter of any provision of the place of administration under
it. It may also be mentioned here in anticipation, that
when, in 1633, Gardiner, Morton, and Radiliffc stirred nj)
Gorges and Mason to bring charges bef(jic the Privy
Council on account of rough treatment which they had re-
ceived, and Humphrey and Saltonstall appeared to defend
the Company here, — the result was that the (Council, thus
fully informed as to the administration in the Bay colony,
made no complaint of the transfer from England. So far
from it, the Council promised that if tlie government here
was administered as was professed when the charter was
granted, it should receive the royal favor.

We must leave the records here for a moment to take
note of a transaction having a very significant relation to
the matters to be brought to our notice when we return to
them. We know well what came of the enterprise conse-
quent on the transfer of patent and government. Wc are

' Life ami Ix-tters of Jolm Winthrop ('Jd cJ.), vol. ii. p. 4-13.

48 THE PURITAN AGE.

conrornod now to trace tlif coming into tlic affairs of
a trudiiij^ company of that stroiij.^ religious leaven which
was first til huilil and then to Huhvert a Biljlicai common-
wealth.

In .July, lij^rt, Jolin Wintlirop, not yet even a member
present at any meetinir of the Comjiany, was ridinp witli
his hrother-indaw Oowninj^ to Scmpcrinpham to visit Isaac
.lohnson to confer about the Massachusetts enterprise. To
his son John in London, just returned from foreip-n travel,
lie communicates his thouphts about emipratioii. There
had been in circulation anioiip a proup of conpenial friends
a certain very prepnant paper entitled " (Jcneral Considera-
tions for the Plantation of New England, witli an Answer
to several flbjections." This paper, to which reference
will lie made in another connection, has a most vital rela-
tion to the enter]irise in hand, and to what came of it. It
begins thus: "It will be a service to the Church of great
consequence to carry the (lospcl into those parts of the
woild." It complains that all the churches of Europe arc
brou'j-bt to desolation and calamities ; there are troubles,
corruptions, decays of piety, disturliances, and tlircatcn-
inps of evil in England. Objections are orderly presented
and answered from Scripture, and largely Old Testament
authorities. To an objection drawn from the failure of
previous attempts at colonization, it is replied that their
" mayne end was carnall and not religious." Let note be
taken of the stress laid in the argument "to raise and
support a particular church," — repeated afterward thus:
" Tlie service of raysingc and upholdijigc a ]>articular church
is to be pireferred before the betteringe of some parte of a
chtii'ch alreadye estalili.sh(Ml." Here is ccrtainlv an inti-
mation of — wiiat afterward was so fulh- realized on this
soil — the views working in the minds of Winthrop and his
sympathizers as to the relations between the sort of church
which they had in mind and that to which tliey then be-
longed, which they believed needed " betteringe." The

GOVERNOR AND COMPANY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 49

authorsliip of this paper lias by some been attributed to
White, the Puritan rector of Durclicster. But the wciglit
of evidence would seem to assign it to Wintiiro[i, as found
in its fullest form among his documents.

While the question of the transfer was pending before
the Court, a most decisive step was taken to advance the
projected enterprise of removal to New England. A meet-
ing was held at Cambridge, Aug. 20, 1629, in which —
undoubtedly jireeeded by full and earnest discussion — an
agreement bearing twelve signatures was signed. Tliis
agreement is simple but positive in its terms. It was en-
tered into by all " upon the joint confidence we have in
each other's fidelity and resolution herein, so as no man
of us would have adventured it without assui'anee of the
rest." In order tliat each of those thus to he pledged, with
others who may join them, " may witliout scruple dispose of
his estate and affairs as may best lit his preparation fortius
voyage, it is fully and faithfully A(;iii;i:i) amongst us, and
every one of us doth hereby freely and sincerely jiroinise
and bind himself, in the word of a Christian and in the
{jrescnce of (Jod," to be ready in jierson and family, with
provisions, etc., to embark for tiie Plantation liy the first of
the nc.\t March at sucli port as the Comiiany should agree
upon, ''to pass the Seas (under (Jod's protection ), to inhaliit
and continue in New Knglaml : Provided always, that be-
fore the last (jf September ne.\t the whole Government,
together with the Patent for the said Plantation, be first,
by an order of Court, legally transferred and established to
remain with us and others which shall inhaljit upon the said
Plantation." A forfeit of jG3 for every day's default is to
be paid by each, except those detained by reason accepted
by three-fourtiis of the signers.

Of the twelve names subscribed, John Winthro[i's stands
the ninth. Those of the others best known to us are
Richard Saltonstall, Thomas Dudley, William Va.ssall,
Isaac Johnson, John Humphrey, Increase Nowell, and

i

50 THE PURITAN AGE.

William Pynchon.' How much of ncfrotiation, conference,
correHpoiak'ncc, uiid balancing of reasons and arfriimonts
had bi't'n cnL'ajrcd in maturinjr this covenant we can well'
conceive, thoiij^h it is known to us only fraf^nientarily. The
conditions were exact, the decision summary. The leijal
transfer of f^overnnient and patent ; the partin;.' witii estates
in Enjrland to meet the charges of emigration and the new
settlement; the removal of families and the identification
henceforward of life and hope and service with a spot in
the wilderness beyond the dread ocean, — these were the
chief terms of the covenant religiously entered into by men
of lofty integrity and high and devout fiurfiose. Each put
liis whole confidence in the possession of such fpialities by
his associates. It may be that our minds will revert to
these conditions of sacrifice and obligation when further on
in these pages we shall have to note the ingenuity, the per-
sistency, and even the keen strategy by which they defended
themselves against plotters to their harm in England and
the harsh severity of their dealings with troubleis within.

After the resolve for the transfer of the government there
were immediate and marked changes in the membership of
the Company. — a selling out of stock by sonic and a pur-
chase by (ithers. The name of John Wintlirop ajipears for
the first time on the records, Sept. 19, 1029. He was not
then present at the meeting, but was named as on a com-
mittee fur liusiness of the Company. That the changes in
membership and ownership of stock were largely due to
the coming in of the serious and religious movements of
the Compaii}-, by which those who had been wont to meet
to discuss matters of traffic were coming under the spell of
jiiety, is not a mere inference. At a meeting of the Court,
\ov. 2.'), lGli9, (111 miilidii of Mr. White, it was resolved —

" TIkiI lliis Imsiiicss iiiif.'lit 111' proocc(li'<i in with tlic llr.st intention,
which wa.'. clii'llly the glury o( God, ;in(l to tliat purpose that tlicir

' Lifi' oncl Lctlcrs of John Winthrop, vol. i. pp. 344, 3i5.

GOVERNOR AND COMPANY OF MASSACHUSETTS HAY. 61

meetings might bee sanctyfied by the prayers uf some faillifiill min-
isters resilient heere in London, whose advice wiinld bee likewise
requisite npon many occasion, tiie Court tboiiglit litt to adniitt
into the freedome of this Company Mr. .Jo: Archer and Mr. I'liii-
lip Nye. ministers heere in London, wlio being heere present kindly
accepted thereof. Also Mr. Whyte did recommend unto them Mr.
Is'athaniell "Ward of Staudon."

These ministers voted into the freedom of tlic Company
were earnest Puiitan divines. And tlim ami there, at a
meeting of the Company in London on the eve of its trans-
fer hither, was initiated the sacred custom — ever since
perpetuated in what has succeeded to that Company as the
Colony, the Province, and the State of JIassachusetts — of
opening tlie proceedings of its Legislature with pra\ci-. Nor
only this, for in every ra]iidly multiplying municipality de-
rived by authority oi that parent lA'gislature, the same
usage has prevailed at the opening of town-meetings.

On August 2ft the decision had been made by the Coint
that the government of persons should be set up in New
England, while tlie government of trade was retained in
London. But this arrangement was com]ir(imiscd. Win-
throp was present at the Court for the first lime ()ctol)Cr
LJ ; and on the 20th, as Cradock could not gi> to New-
England, it was necessary to choose a new Governor, The
Court '"having received extraordinary great commenda-
tions of Mr. Jolin Winthrop, both for his integritie and siif-
ficiencie," his nanie was ])ut in nomination, with tlxise of
Saltonstall, Johnson, and Humphrey ; and "Mr, Winthrop
was, with a genei'all vote and full consent (jf this Court,
by erection of hands, chosen to bee (Jovcrnor."

lie wrote to his wife — as lie afterward said in public
with modest dignity — that he was taken by surjirise, and
thought liimself unequal to the high trust committed to
him. But the Court had judged wisely in their estimate of
the man, and liis career and service for the score of years
yet left to him proved that for virtues and capacities, for

b'Z THK PURITAN AGE.

<;(iiispci-ati()ii iif lii'url, iuiil fur thi: licroisms of f)ati('iice and
suc.i'ilici', liis clcctiiiu had a lii^dicr ra( ificatioii. From tli<-'
hmir ill uliirli W iiitliro|] a88imi(,'d this Ir'adcrsliiji in hdxjr
and rcspiiiisihilit y ti> the day of liis embaikatioli, lii.s cares
anil rriuils were r(|ii;illy \aiii:d and exacting';. There is
rniiiiLiii rxtani ui his rorresiiondcnce at the tinir to show
with what tender affection he wrote to nienihers of liis
faniilv when separated from flicm h\' his business and
when prepaiiii'^ fui' pLii'tinL^ witli his uifi; and siieh of liis
children as he had to leave to follow after liini ; also, his
letters widely scattered to enlist Others in his ente][irise,
amiiii'j: them the liumhle and dependent as well as those
needful as meclianics, engineers, and physicians, — indeed,
to those of a wide and inclusive ranee, who were in sym-
pathy with or cmild be inspired by his own motives. He
was then fort\-tuii vears of aire.

The fleet was to consist of eleven ships, and included
the " Mayflower," whose fame was won ten years before.
We must lea\e tu onr imaLrinatiun to analyze and dis]K)se
the elements of charaiMer and qualities which marked in-
di\iiluals and classes in tliat company iif two timusand
sDuls, Care and caul inn had been exireised tu the ut-
most piissihle extent in selectiiiL'' healthful, hiniest. capalile,
anil w ell-dispiised jiei'suns ; but what was needed and what
had t" he accepted A\ere not correspondent terms. We
shall dnulilless be safe in stirmisiiiL: that there were less
of the iiic(iiii:runiis and mischievous elements of liumanity
^"■atliered in that fleet than linve ever before or since been
nrissed together in enterprises that have lured men in
fliieks, — fnim the viiyaires of Columbus, tlirouixh the earlv
settleiiK'nls iif X'iririnia, down to the rushini^ swarms to
the ^old mines of California. Nur can we infer, except
tliriiiifrh the develnpments afterward realized liere, what
proportion of the whole comjiany, below the rank of the
most earnest and responsible leaders of the enterprise,
were in full or partial sym|iatliy with (heir aims. The

GOVERNOR AND COMPANY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY. h6

voyage began April 8, 1G30. Such reports as we have
of conduct and experience on board the vessels would in-
dicate that it was without turbulence, with orderly and
serious observances.

Before the leaders of the Company sailed away, they had
left to be printed and circulated in England a document
which has been the suliject of much critical discussion
among historians, and has been turned into matter of
grave censure against Winthrop and his associates. The
ground of this censure is, that the professions of tender
and affectionate attachment and gratitude to the Church
of England expressed in the document, were strangely in-
consistent with, and utterly slighted by, the course which
the signers at once adopted in the church-method insti-
tuted and administered by them on their ariival here.
The reflection cast upon them has nut stopped short of the
charge of insincerity and hyj)ocrisy. \Vc must seek to
throw such liLrht on the matter as a dispassinnate state-
ment of the facts will admit, with siii;h comments as may
suggest themselves. The paper is entitled, —

" Tlie Ilurablo Request of His Majesty's Loyal! Subjects, the
Governor anti the Company late gone for New- England, to the
rest of their Bri'thren in and of the C'hurrh of En^rland, for
the obtaining of their Prayers, and the removal of sus|)i(ions and
misconstructions of tlieir Intentions."

It may be remarked, \h passing, that the publication and
free circulation of this pfoper dis]joses effectually of the al>
surd charge that the Company, with such a fleet on such
an enterprise, stole away covertlv from England. Tlie
jiapcr is addressed, "Reverend Fathers and Di-etlircn," and
it proceeds upon the general rumor and knowledt'e of tiunr
enterprise as a reason ior asking prayers and lilessings
upon it. It seems to me, after the full thought and study
which I have given to the various bearings of the subject,
that we may wisely begin here to recognize the fact — to

!'>i TDE PUniTAN AGE.

hr further on more fully illustrated — that Winthrop's
('iiin|iaiiv, like the otliei- NoucimfurmistK, made a distinc-
tion between eertain prime elenn.'nts and (jualities and cer-
tain secondary matters in the institution and administra-
tion of tln' Church of En^dand, to some of which they were
heartily attached, while with others they were not in sym-
[)atliy. And further, that the Nonconformists rejrardcd
tliose essentials to which they clunj^' as inlinitely tran-
sccndinjr those incidental features wdiich they rej(;ctcd
in their relations to the ends of rtdiirion and pic'ty. How-
ever this may have been, the candid reader must judge
when he reviews the facts and professions to be soon set
forth, not as a plea, but as an historical summary. The
most em[ihatic statement in the paper before us is as
follows : —

" And howsoever your charily may have met with some occa-
sion of discouragement through tlie misrcport of our intentions,
or through the disaffection or indiscretion of some of us, or
rather amongst us (for we are not of those that dream of perfec-
tion in tliis world), yet we desire you would be pleased to take
notice of the principals and body of our Companv, as those who
esteem it our honour to call the Cluirch of England, from wdience
we rise, our dear mother, and cannot part from our native Coun-
try, where she specially residetli, without much sadness of heart
and many tears in our eves, ever aeknowh'dging that such liope
and part as we have obtained in the common salvation we have
received in her bosom and sucked it from her lireasts. We leave
it not, therefore, as hiiilhing that milk whercwilli we were nonr-
islied there; but lihssing God for tlio parentagi' and education, as
members of tlie same body, shall always rejoiee in her good and
unfi'igneilly gri<'vi' for aiiv sorrow that shall ever betide lier, and
while we have breath sincerely ih'sirc and endeavour the continu-
ance and abundance of her welfare, with tlic enlargement of her
tMjunds in the Kingilom of Christ ,h^sus."

There is a sentence in this Address which docs not
appear to have engagecl the attention of some who have

GUVERNOR AND COMPANY OF MASSACUUSETTS DAY. 55

most severely judL'cd tlic si<i:ncrs of it, — tlie leaders of tlie
Company. It is this: " If any there be who throuLrh want
of clear intelligence of onr eourse, or tenderness of affec-
tion towards ns, cannot conceive so well of our way as
vee could desire," etc. They then had " a way '' of their
own ; and this may have had some relation to that idea
of " a particular church," referred to un a previous paire
in the " Considerations."

It is not out of place here to interruijt the course of
comment on this language used by the exiles touching their
feelings and relations to the Church of England, liy quot-
ing a similar expression of those in religious syrajiathy
with them. The Rev. Francis Higginson, a graduate of
St. John's College, Cambridge, while settled at Leicester
l)ecamc a Puritan, and on account of his scruples declined
many attractive livings ofTered him under the Establish-
ment, lie had been invited by the Bay Company in lt328
til go in its service as minister to the preparatory settle-
ment at Salem. Dreading a siunuions before the High
Commission Court, he accepted, and arrived at Salem,
June 29, 1G29. On his passage liither, as he left the
shores of England, he called his family and other passen-
gers around him, and said : —

" We will not sav, Farewell Biibylon I Farewell Rome ! but we
will sav. Farewell dear Eiirjland ! Farewell the Church of God in
England, and all the Christian friends there I We do not go to
New England as Separatists from the Church of England, though
we cannot hut separate from tlie corruptions in it; but we go to
practise the positive part of the Church reformation, and to propa-
gate the Gospel in America." '

The voyage of Winthrop liither, begun Ajiril 8, 1630,
was closed on June 22. Frequent and constant religious
exercises of catechism, prayer, and preaching on Sundays
and week-days must have ecjually tried the patience of

' Mather's Ma^aha, book iii. [i. 7 4.

Tifj TIIK rurUTAN AGE.

marinnrs and servants, and fud tlif jnys of piety in the con-
secrated liearts of tlic exiles. (Jne is left to infer that
tliev did n(jt follow the forms of the Jjiturpy. Ilifrcrinson,
the minister at Salem, who as just noted came over the
prccedincT year, tells ns in his Journal that his shi]i's crim-
pany maiked thiir watehes "with siiiL'^inf: a ijsalm, and
prayer that was not read out of a book." '

Amona; the papers of Wintliroyi was found one entitled
"A Model! of Christian Cliarity," written on the oeean on
board the "ArbcUa." As he was wont "to exercise in the
way of prophesying," it was douljtlcss made Ijy him to
serve the use of a sermon. It is in a strain of pentle and
elevated piety; and while it confirms all our estimate of
the sweetness and nobleness of his spirit, it reveals most
sifrnificantly his own strenfrthcninp- conception of the re-
ligious intent of his enterprise. The jiaper is crowded
with Scripture references. If the careful and candid study
of our history leave any of its readers in doubt as to
whether the religious and Biblical character of the Com-
monwealth here established was intended from the first
concejition of it, this paper should help the decision.

Winthrop wrote ; —

" The work wc h:ive in hand is by a mutiKill consent, through
a gpofial overvaluing providence and a more tlum an ordinary
approbation of the Churrhes of Christ, to seek out a plucr of co-
habitation and Consorteshipp under a due forme of Government,
both civill and crelesiasticall. In sueli cases as tliis, the care of
the publique must ovorswav all privatt' respects. . . . Thus stands
tlie cause between Cod and us. We are entered into rovenant
with Iliin for this worke. We liave taken out a enniniissinn. The
Lord hath given us leave to drawe our own articles. Wi' liave
professed to enterprise these and tliose accounts >ipon these and
those ends. We have hereupon Ixsouixht Ilini of favour and
blessing. Now if tlie Lord sliall please to heare us, and bring U3

' Young's ChruiiicleH of .Mus.sni'liusftl.'^, \> 2.17.

GOVERNOR AND COMPANY 01' MASSACHUSETTS KAY. 57

in peace to the place we desire, then hath hee raLilicil this cove-
nant and sealed our Commission, and will expect a strict perform-
ance of the articles contained in it." '

We certainly can be at no loss to discover what was the
master motive of Winthrop in his enterprise, nor to con-
ceive what sort of a Church and State he had in view.
He believed that his Company had entered on a covenant
with each other which was at the same time a Covenant
with God : constancy and fidelity exhibited in mutual
love were tlie terms pledsxcd. The enterprise demanded
resolution of spirit, for it was hazardous, and might end
in disaster ; hut he would abide by it. He never looked
backward ; he never saw his native hiiid UL'^ain. Twilve
years after the arrival here, at a crisis of di.sruuraL'^enient,
very many of his associates, under the same ]ilrd[rcs as
himself, went back to England, or to mori' jii-omisinfr
scenes. Winthro|p's plaint in his Journal - over tliis (In-
fection is pointed in rebuke of them, but of noble manli-
ness as to his own constancy. '• Ask thy C(jnscicnce if
tliou wouldst have plucked up thy stakes anil Ijrou'jlit tliy
family three thousand miles if thou hadst c.vfiected tliat
all, or most, would have f(jrsaken thee there."

Bearing in mind the e.xjin^ssions of tender attachment
to the Church of England with which the leaders of the
Comf)any had parted fi.)m their native land, we wait witii
interest for information on the proceedings and measures
first adopted on this foreicrn shore in church institution,
communion, and worship. That information is full as to re-
sults, which, however, were of so markeil and inilooked for
a character as to lead us to believe that they were preceded
by some deliberation and discussion, — possiidy some vari-
ance of opinion. But of this we know nothing. So far
as appears from the record, the proceedings and conclu-

' The whole semion is printed in Mass. Hist. Coll., 3J Series, voL vii.
pp. 33-48.
' Vol. ii. p. 87.

.'jo the puritan age.

sions were all si)ontaiK'ous and liurnidnioiis. While thev
naturally cause mure oi' less suipiisi' to all viio have
traced with care (he history (le\el()|ied to this point, tliey
have excited much severity of criticism and censure, as
not oidy donr w itli(jut any recijf:niti(jn of " tjie ways'" of
the Church of Kntjland, but su as efTectually to initiate a
breach and rupture with it.

(lathered under a tree, or within the fresh rude timbers
of the "Great House" built in Charlestown foi- tiie mis-
cellaneous uses of defence, stoi'afre, and nieetin^rs, tlie
leaders of the Company Jiad •' set a[iart the 30th of July,
1G30, as a day of fasting and prayer." AfttT relijrious
exercises, Governor "\Vinthro]i, I'eputy-Governor Dudley,
Mr. Isaac Johnson, and Mr. John Wilson, '• with many
others, both men and women," put their names to the
following Covenant : —

" In tlie Name of our Lord Je.^us Clirist, and in Obedience to
His hoi}' will and Divine r)rdin:incf, —

" \Vee whose n;imo.s are lnTeuiidor written, bcin;; bv His most
wise and good Providence brought togetlior into tliis part of
America in tlie Bay of Massacliusetts, and desirous to unite our-
selves into one Congregation, or Churcli, under the Lord Jesus
Christ our Head, in such sort as becomcth all tliose whom He hath
Ivtilecmcd and Sanctifyed to Hiniselfe, do liertbv solemnlv and
religiously (as in His most holy Procsence) Promisse and bind our-
selves to walkc in all our waves according to the Rule of tlie Gos-
p(<ll, and in all sincere Conformity to His huh Ordiuannces, and in
niutiiall love and respect each to other, so neere as God shall give
us grace."

The completion of their church proceedings, wliich was
not made till the -Tth of August, is thus related by
Winthrop : ' —

"We of the congregation kept a fast, and chose Mr. Wilson our
teaclicr, and Mr. Novvell an elder, and Mr. Gager and Mr. Aspinwall,

' Vol. i. p. 31.

OOVERNOn AND COMPANY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 59

deacons. We used imposition of hands, but with this protestation
hv all, tliat It was only a sign of election and confirmation, not of
any intent that Mr. Wilson should renounce his ministry he re-
ceived in England."

The points to be s])ecially noted in these yjroceedings are
that "conformity" is pledged to Christ, not to the Churcli
of England, and that the words " elder " and " deacon "
are used in a sense unknown to that Church. These
points will call for further notice. Substantially the same
method of church organization had been previously recog-
nized in Plymouth and in Salem ; but it is the more sig-
nificant here, as having the authority and sanction of the
responsible leaders of the Bay Comiiany. Whether so in-
tended or not, it proved to be the initiation of a mode of
church institution alienated from and nut in accord with
the Church of England ; as such it became the model to
be copied in the thousands of Congregational chinches
which cover the land. This alienation of the Boston church
from the Church of England had been significantly antici-
pated a year previous in the setting uji of the church in
Salem. When this was gathered, under the Congregational
form, two brothers, John and Samuel Browne, — men much
honoreil by their associates as members of the Council, —
taking offence at the disuse of the Common Prayer and
the ceremonies, at once put them to service in a small con-
gregation made up of those who were in sympathy with
them. Endicott for this offence summoned the Brownes
before the Council. The brotliers pronounced the minis-
ters Separatists, and likely to become Anabaptists. En-
dicott told them tliat New England was not a fit place
for them, and they were summarily sent back to England.
This measure of Iiigh-handcd authority seemed to settle
the point that the colony was to be one of Nonconformists.
Mr. Doyle ' says : —

1 The English in America, i. 129.

(10 THE PUIUTAN AOE.

" If llic colonv was to berome what its promoters intended,
unity, not merely of reiii,'ioiis belief, liut of ritual and of eeclesias-
ticul discipline, was, at least for the present, a needful condition of
existence. We must not condemn the Vtanishment of the Hrownes
luili^s \\r ari' prepared In say that it would liave been better
for till' wnrlil if the Puritan colony of Massachusetts had never
existe(l."

We shall soc further on tliat the Boston church would
not, when challenged 1o do so, renounce its communion
with the Church of England, nor exjircss its penitence for
having been in its fold. Ihit by its own act it was cut off
fi'om recognition by tliat mother cliineh. Its ways from
its beginning were in accordance with the Nonconformity
professed by its members ; its usages were at once and
continuously distinctive. The liturgy, the r<ad ]]ruyers,the
responsive services, days of observance other than the
Sabbath, the official relation of the minister, were all dis-
pensed with. This pattern for a New England church was
of course regarded as exactly set by Scri|)ture, and vari-
ances from it were unscriptural. Strangely enough, it was
to come about in from fifty to sixty years, — when habit and
usage and the coming upon the stage of a new generation
had made this New England pattern traditional, and civil
law liad conferred on it the pri\ilege and dignity of an Es-
tablishment,— that when the old motlier churcli [iresented
itself here for recognition it was regarded not only as a
stranger, but as a trespasser and intruder, unwelcome and
odious. Yet the fathers had expressed to it their yearning
love and gratitude ; Wiiithrop and his associates had ncxer
renounced its comnninion in England, though there is e\i-
dence that they had sought religious sym]iathy and nour-
ishment ill iiidepenileut services of conh'rence and ]ira\er.
Still, as already noticed, the K|i(intaneity and harmony with
which they entered into their innovating ways, — without,
as we can discover, any variance or opposition, — would
seem to indicate some previous mutual understanding of

tiOVERNOR AND COMPANY OP MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 61

plan and purpose before leaving England. It lia.s been
snggestcd that under the circumstances of the e.xile the
Congregational institution and discipline was a matter of
exigency and necessity. But this does not appear ; for the
first ten pastors here had been Episcopally ordained. The
Book of Common Prayer might have been obtained as
easily as the Bible. They might have chosen vestrymen,'
wardens, and a clerk ; they might have set u[) an altar
and a rail ; they might have follnwed the Scrijiture les-
sons orderly. There was nothing here in snil, climate, or
physical condition to hinder but that Englishmen might
have brought hither their sacred forms and usages, had
they wished to do so. Had they wished tu do sd : but
they evidently did not. Unless, therefore, one is [)re-
pared to sav that tiie professions of attachment and giati-
tude with which tliey parted from the Church in their
native land, when followed liy the course at once adopted
here, indicate artifice, insincerity, and hypocrisy, he must
seek for a reconciling explanation.

Winthrop makes a significant entry in his Journal ^ with-
in three years after his arrival liere. Referring to a hear-
ing before the Council in England of some friends of the
Colony in answer to some com[)laints by its enemies, he
writes that " the defendants were dismissed with a favor-
able order for their encouragement, being assured from
some of the Council that his Majesty did not intend to
impose the ceremonies of the Church of England upon us;
for that it was considered that it was the freedom from
such things that made people come over to us."

Here it may be that we find relief in the perplexity before
us. Nonconformists miglit be fond of their lineage through
the Church of England and express their attachment to it,
because they distinguished broadly between what was vital
to its being, the divine essentials of its life and power, and
certain unessential, indifferent, and even injurious elements

1 Vol. i. p. 103.

G2 Tliro I'UUITAN AGE.

ill its (lisci[ilinc, orf.'aiii/.atiijii, and admiiiistraliori. The
Script 111 rs and the Faitli were tin/ essentials. 'J'iii' Puritans
i(\( red (he Scii|)tnrc8, and lield the doctrinal belief of the
Tinity-niiie Articles more rifridly than did many of those
who did not share their scruples, li is fur such as so be-
lieve to maintain that tiie jrlory of the Cluiieh of EiiL'land
consists in the ceremonial and forms which distiii^riiish it
from other churches rather than in its inheritance and
eiijiiyment of the Scrijitiires and the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. The Puritans did not so believe. This will ap-
pear as we now jiroceed to set forth the principles of
their nonconformity. Iligfrinson, in the words of his al-
ready quoted, has clearly intimated the difference, well
understood at the time, between " Separatists" and " Nun-
conformists."

m.

THE NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CHURCH
OF ENGLAND.

As the two terms "Nonconformists" and "Separatists"
were found necessary to cxin-eas the different relations of
parties toward the English Church after its rupture with
Rome, the difference l)etwcen their mcaniii'j: and use must
be clearly drawn. The term "Separatist" cari'ied its own
e.\-])lanation witii it. It descrilied tliose who put themselves
wholly outside of the ecclesiastical fold, rcnouncimi mem-
bership, and assnminir toward it an attitude of repuL'nance,
with more or less of active hostilitv to it. Of these were
the congregations which left ICngland fur Holland and other
parts of the Continent, and one of which came to Plymouth.
The Nonconformists did not wish or intend to sever them-
selves from the English Church, nor to remain in it as
internal enemies, but rather as its warm and faithful mem-
bers. An attempt will soon be made to define their views
and wishes. Here it may ije said in general, that, in ad-
hering to the Church and shrinking from renouncing their
heritage in it, they jiut themselves in an attitude of distin-
guishing between certain of its elements and otlieis, some
of which they approved, others of wliich trouljh'd their con
sciences. This attitude of tliciis was somewhat similar to
that of a man who allows himself to be ranked in a great ,
political party, yet disapproves of and will not comply witli ,
some of its measures or tactics; or, as one may mingle Id
the social life around him, and yet object — even to cccen

r>4 THE PURITAN AGE.

tiicily — to somo iif its stamlurds or customs. Tlie jioint
before lis is to ('.\]il;iiii — il liiiy one thinks an explanation
wortli tlie while ^ liciw Winthid]] and liis Company, after
leavini: Knijland wilh such warm prcjfessions of attachment
to the niDtlier ehiirch, should iuiniediately (i)i reaching their
new Inline institute "a paitieular ehui'eli " of their own, so
unlike it and so independent of it as effectually t<< sever
themselves and their jiosterity from its communion. And
furtliei-, we must kee[i in view the fact tliat under the
novel eliureh institution in wliieh they had placed them-
selves, they stoutly refused, v,]\vn ehallenyed to do so, to
renounce tlieir mother church and express penitence for
havin;,:; communed with it.

I will try to put to service the fruits of some consider-
able study which 1 have given to this period and subject of
history, with the purpose of stating as impartially as I
may the case of tlie Fuiitans, simply, however, as an ex-
positor, not as its chani]iion. The positions to be taken
and the aiguineiits to lie set fortli are theirs, — the measure
of my own approxal of or sympathy with them is a wholly
irrelevant matter here.

If at this jircsent time tlierc were no "dissenters" in
England, and if the Established Church, thoroughly organ-
ized and settled in its government and administration,
were peacefully and harmoniously pursuing its work, there
should start forth within its fcild a <'onsidcrable bodv of
men to im|iugii or assail it, raising division and discord,
we might well look to them to give us reasons and grounds
of great weight :ind of manifest urgency to juslifv them in
tlieir course. They might be able, under the circumstances
supposed, to vindicate themselves in the judgment of fair-
minded persons by olTeiing snthcient, or if but seeming,
warranl for their eciurse ; for all luiinan organizations and
institulidiis are open to iiuiuisition, review, and readjusts
ment. lint if these critics and dissentients should sliow
themselves as moved simply by a restless and factious spirit

NONCONFOrvMISTS AND THE CllUBCH OF ENGLAND. G5

to breed discord where tliere was peace, and could offer
for tlieir justilicatiem t)iily perverse and iiitlainmatory com-
[ilaints, iuiaLriiiary fjrrievances, aiiirry ohjeetions to tliinrrs
" indifferent," tri\ ial scruples and crotchets eni^endered in
their own conceits, they might expect to draw ujion tiiem-
sclvcs not only the censure and disajiprobation of pood
men, but even some forms of a severer retrilmtion.

Now, there arc in print countless volumes and pamphlets,
datinp: soon after the Reformation in EuLtland and coming
down to oui-own time, which reiiresent the Xoneoiiformists
and the Puritans in general as not only pursuing the course
descrilied in the former of these suppositions, but as adding
to it all that is perverse and odious in the latter. The fact
that tlie Puritan party not only failed to secure a triumph
for its own principles, luit also sufTeri'ii Ininiiliation in its
defeat, is used as reilecting back upon it a just judgment
for its factiousness and unreasonable antaLi'(inism.

The description given of tin.' Knirlisb .Noiicontormists in
many [lages that stand for history, is as follows : That tliry
started fortii under a well-settled order of constitution and
discipline in tlie Church of England, uhiiji had the general
assent and approval of the mass of the peoplr of tlie realm,
and factiously fomented variance and discord with a con-
tentious and malignant spirit, working themselves into a
morbid activity of conscience which, while rendering tliem
disagreeable to others, firovcd tiicni to be without reason,
judgment, and true Christian sentiment.

How wide of the truth, iiow grievously erroneous, and
how false to all the vei-ities of tlie case this representation
of the principles and course of the Puritans is, will a[)pear
from a simple statement of the well attested facts of his-
torv. This view of the Puritans as introducing strife and
discord in a well-settled order in tlie Church, and of urging
factious and perverse methods, whims, and scruples in things
indifferent under the plea of advancing a pure reformation,
proceeds upon two assumptions. First, that wiien the Puri-

6G THK PUftlTAN ACE.

tans fircscnt (lipmsfl\os actively and earnestly within tlic
fiild (if till' ImiitUsIi ( "iuireli, its roiistitiitinn am] oi';/anization
wore well settled, its order and discijilinc were satisfaetory
to the people of the realm, and its sacred ofiices were in
peaceful administration. The second assumption is, that
after the rupture willi Ivomc called the [{('formation, a
standarti hud liccn rccoi.''ni/.ed as fixed in reas(jn and the
nature of thiuL'"s for decidiii;:^ at once tlie comjiass, rang'c,
anil details of the chanfrcs to be made in thf rirjrani/.ation,
discipline, ritual, aiul worslii[i of the renewed t'luireh, —
as to what in the Roman heritafre was to he retained and
honored, and what was to be repudiatecl and disused. How
utterly opfiosed these bold assumptions are to historic
truth, will reveal itself to any one who reads any ten out
of the thousands of the volumes u[ion the suljject which
liave claims to our trusty perusal.

What date in the period of the opcnintr and vifrorous
jirosecution of tlie EnLrlish Reformation will any one ven-
ture to hx upon :is markiuir the coniiition of si'ttlcd order,
and, but for the factious spii-it of the Puritans, of quietuile
in the Enirlish Church ? Let liim run throuo-h the whole
period covered by tlie reiLrns of Henry ^'I1I. and of his
three children, — Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth,- — and of
the four Stuart kings. Tlirouph that whole space of time
the Church was, to use the mildest term for description,
unsetth'd, in process of reciuistruetion and of internal and
external oifranization and ]iacilieation.

Tlie reijrn of Henry VIll. found the Pope of Rome the
head of the (.'liurcli of EnL'land, with more of power and
rule in the realm than bail its sovereign. His spiritual
authority had heeomi^ so mixed anil so transcendent in
secular afTairs as (o be undislinLCuisliable from a temporal
swny. He was the head of a hierarchy, whiidi in its gra-
dations and orders pathered all classes, ranks, and estates
of the people, from the monarch and nobility down to the
jieasant, into 8ubordinati()n to it. Everv ecclesiastic in tlie

NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CHURCH OP ENGLAND. C7

reiiliu — cardinal, prelate, abbot, rector, monk, and friar —
reeeivcd commission from and owed allegiance to him. The
Pope through his ministers constituting the Churcii, aiiart
from its lay membersliip, was the largest landholder in the
kingdom, holding liy tlie dead hand, in mortmain, enormous
endowments for religion, education, and charity. The Pojie
could p>it the kingdom under interdict, and absolve all the
King's subjects from their allegiance. The quarrel of the
King with the Pope, on personal grounds, led the monarch
to deny and renounce the Pope as the head of the English
Church, and to claim that prerogative for himself. This
was the whole (if the wurk of Reformation etTeeted by
the King ; in all else he lived and died a good Roman
Catholic.

Put what of the Churcli of England in this crisis, with
only a change from an ecclesiastical to a lay headship ?
The Church bearing the name nf Chiist had grown, been
developed, or evolved from the simplicity of its primitive
institution to a towering and grasping di.iminaniy (jver its
willing and unwilling disci])lesliip. If one should say to
US that the Church of St. Peter in Rome " was built by
Cod," we should understand him as so afllrming because
(iod furnished the materials and endowed tlie human skill
that reared the structure. And this would not make us
oblivious of tlie fact that unconsccrated stones from
heathen edilices had been built intu the walls, that fables
ami falselujods entered into its symbolism, ami that arti-
fice, greed, extortion, rapacity, and fraud in the trallic of
" Indulgences " had furnished the funds for an enormous
outlay. In much the same way, one who is not in the
communion of the Papal Churcli regards its claims to a
divine origin and authority. lie knows from what original
and germ it started, and the method of its growth, accre-
tion, and claim to supreme authority in spiritual things,
and, so far as it pleases, to extend the compass of the s[iirit-
ual, in temporal things. It requires no great profundity

C)8 TllK PURITAN AGE.

of Brholai'slii|i in ancii-nt Inic fur mi inquirer to trace the
|irii('cssrs of cni-ruiil iiiii, fiaml, in^j-rrniity, the artful use of
o|i|iort iiiiilirs, foi'LTil <lociiiiiriits, towering' ambitions, and
an ailroit |ila\in^' upon liinnan cri'diilities and weaknesses
\iv wliicli (lie Pa])al Cluircli jjatlicrcd to it. and tlien assimi-
lalcd, the I'lrnniits and inelliods of its thrall uvit men.
Thr power and skill of oru:anization, thron;j-h inultifilied
and ;,nadi'd repi-escntativcs of its unity, explain to us the
secret of its mar\('lloiis and stujiemlous sway. It has
wioinjlit into its ecclesiastical fabric the noblest and the
meanest materials : its discijjleship has included saints
and devils, and it has been served liy both of them.
Lordly prelates, pnfTeil with ambition, intrii'iie. ami sen-
suality, have been its statesmen ; men of tJie loftiest zeal
and the humblest s]iirit in its ser\ ice have been its mission-
aries ; aniJ wom(;n of meek ami all self-sacrificinir ^'raccs
and virtues have been the ministers of its holy charities.
As we study that Church in the contrasted aspects which
it jirescnts in liistory and in life, we are moved to afhrm
that there is iiothinLT tuo irood to be said of it, and nothing
to(^ bad to lie said of it. Ihit when the papal liead of the
Church of Kn<rland had been repudiated and displaced, the
Church itsi.'lf was li'ft imdei- tlie ortranization and adminis-
tration, discipline ami ceremonial, to which many centuries
ijf authority and fibedience had trained the ]ieople of the
realm. The problem now |ii-esented was, what was to be
done with a papal church deprived of its papal head ?
Henry \'1II. opened that |irobleni, and left it to be dis-
posed of iiy his royal successors lliniuirh the rciLrns alreadv
mi.'ntione(l. niirinL' a larire part of that period the ipies-
tion u bethel- the Kebirmation itsidf should abide, sliould
aihance or I'eccde, depended u|ion the education vvliich
the successive sovereiirns had recei\i-d, and whether thev
would uphold the old chui-ch or the new. Roman Catho-
lics and Protestants took turns at roastiu": at the stake,
and at bcin;^ committed to the Tower, tiie prisons, and the

NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 69

lieadsman's axe. Will any one fix for us the date when
the present establislied Church of En^rland caine into ex-
istence, and liad linally settled its constitution and order ?
The Books of Homilies ado|)ted by that Church in the
reigns of Edward VI, and Elizabetli, were ordered to be
I'ead in every church in the kingdom. Tin' "Homily
against the Peril of Idolatry "' ])roncninces this judgment
upon the Roman Church, undiT which the kingdom had
previously been in oliedience : " Lait)' and clergy, learned
and unlearned, all ages, sects, and degrees of men, women,
and children of the whole of Christendom, had been at
once drowned in aliominalile idolatry, aii<l that for the
space. of eight hundred years and more." Here certainly
was a good start and reason for reform. Hut so vacil-
lating and inconstant was the work as it wrut on lor a
century tiiat the statement often rcjieated li\ Roman
Catholic writers is substantially true, — that the English
Parliament, or Convocation, has alternately approved and
repudiated such Roman doctrines and usages as Transub-
stantiation. Invocation of the Saints, Extreme Unction,
Prayers for the Head, and Auricular Confession. In ir)50
the Mass was ]ironounceil to be "a blessed jirivilege,' and
in 10;32 it was condennied as "a blasphemous fable." In
1534 Parliament denied that the Pope had rightful juris-
diction in England ; but two years afterward the Convo-
cation at York alTirmed that "the King's Higluic.ss, nor
any temporal man, may not be the head of the Church liy
the laws of Cod," and that "the Pope of Rome hath been
taken for the head of the Church and Vicar of Christ, and
so ought to be taken." ' Eighteen years afterward this
judgment was condemned, and the King was substituted
for the Pope as the head of the Cliurch. In 15.5'J the ball
was thrown to and fro. Both houses of Convocation as-
serted the Pope's 8ui)remacy, Parliament denied it, and
gave the Queen the headship. The royal head of the

' Strype's Eccltsiailicul ilemuiiala, v„l. i. (urt ii. ['l'. 268, 207.

70 Till-: f'UKlTAN ^GE.

('hurch iirdMiiilf^atecl succi'ssi\rl_v tlic two fuUowiiig ojijio
situ doctrines ; uaiiiel}', in l/>.]7, this : —

" As luurliiiij^ till- sarnuiu'iil ni lln- allar, we will lliut all iji.sli-
()[is iiiid lUiailin^ hjuiil instruct, and teach our people coiiiiiiitted
bv y. untd their spiriliial i:hari,'e, tliat th('_\ oui;lit, anil must, eon-
stanilv liilieve that under the lorni and h:,'ure of bread and wine,
wliieli we tliere |iresenll_v du see and pcTceive by our outward
senses, is veril\, substantially, and reallv contained an<l eun]pre-
hcnded the very self-same boih and blood of our Sa\iour Jesus
Christ, which was born of the Virjrin jMary and suffered U[ion the
cross for our redemption ; and that under the same form and figure
of bread and wine the very 6elf-sarae body aiid Idood ol Christ is
corporally, really, and in the very substani-c exhibited, distributed,
aud receiycd of all them which receive the same sacrament."

And this ill the Articles of 1552 : —

" Transubstantialion (or the change of the substance of bread
and wine), in the Sup|icr of the Lord, cannot be proved from
Holy Writ ; but it is ri'jiugnant to the jilain words of Scrip-
ture, and bath ;.dvcn o<-'casion to many superstitions. . . . And
since (as the llol\ Scriptures testify ) Christ hath been taken up
into heaven, and there is to abide till the end of the world, it
hecometh iiui any of the faithful to believe or jirofess that there
is a real or corporal ]ircscnce (as they phrase it i of the body and
blood of Christ in the holy eucharist. The sacrament of the
Loid's Supper was not, Iiy Christ's onliuaiice, reserved, carried
about, lifted n|i, or worshipped."

Bishop Burnet, an liistorian of the Refnviiiatiun, telLs us
of a kindly attempt to allow a free choice lietwecii these

two heliefs : —
«
" In l.'i.'i'l il w.is [)ro|iosed to have the roninitmion-bnok so con-
trived that il niiL;hl nol eycludc the belief of the cor|Hir,d pres-
ence ; for the chief ilesiL^'u of the (,,luecn's Council was to unite
the nation iii one failh, and the greatest part of the nation cou-
IJuued to belii'\e such a presence," '

' Hibtoiv uf llii- Itituiiiiutioii, p. 5)73,

NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CH0UCH OF ENGLAND. 71

On Olio point only was Elizabeth decided and positively
fixed ; that was the fundamental principle of the Refor-
mation, the denial of any rightful exercise of the papal
power within her realm. She was tolerant of some of the
principles and jiracticos of the Papacy which had so long
held sway in some of the details of goveiiuneiit, and which
were not readily to be discredited for the mass of her sub-
jects. Iler policy was shrewd and artful. There were
Catholic sovereigns and princes whom she had either to
conciliate or to render impotent in any measures they might
attempt for strengthening the papal power against her.
The diplomacy of her reign, as it has been revealed to us
in State Papers, is a most marvellous disclosure nf crooked
intrigues and wily ingenuities, with tricks of falsehood
which bailie all attemjits at classification.

Wiicn the first act was done in the work of reform in
the English Church, even the wisest in the realm could
have had but the faintest apprehension of the scope and
substance of the rcxolutinn that was to be wrought. Un-
der Romanism an elaborate and highly artificial ceremo-
nial had engaged the senses and sentimi/nts of the jieoplc,
leaving thought and intellect at rest. The Lord's Supper,
from what we read of it in the New Testament, where the
gathered disciples remembered their Master " in the break-
ing of bread," had become — as one may regard it, cither an
august or a deceiving ceremonial — an altar-service by the
priest, with symljols, incense, robings, gestures, genuflec-
tions, and adorations, the wafer serving as an amulet or a
charm. fJaptism, with its const'crated water and its chrism,
was an exorcising siiell. The mendicant orders — filthy
and covered with vermin — infested the lii'jhways and by-
ways, tlic village purlieus, mai'ket-places, and hostelries.
The land was skinned and plundered for Peter's pence.
Fees and exactions were extolled for vwvy incident and
experience of life ; the humblest hut or cottage could not
be occupied till by ghostly exorcism the Devil had been

7'2 THK PURITAN AGE.

warned out of it. liirlli, liaptisiii, the cliiircliinir of motli-
cr.s, c'cinlirnmtioii, I'oiifcKsioii, ciuniiiiiniiin were as.soHSfd by
a scale of fees. Kxeu deatli did iKjt secure a release from
tiieso jiriestly extortions; for not even the saintlie.st soul,
as it jiarted with the liody, went direct to heaven, but was
dela\ ed in the liniljo of I'uiyatory, needin<5 altar masses
foi- its release. And as in the transition fr(jni time to
eteruitv dates and periods ai'e ininieasuraijle, and it was
impossible to know when a soul hail been [irayed out of
the half-way house, it was Init a nieasure of prud'ijce to
[irovide for " perpetual masses."

From the complete and ubii[uitous oversifjht and sway of
this system in belief, usatre, and authority, it was the ulti-
mate cud of the Reformation to secure deliverance for all
who would avail of it. In ]ilace of it was to come an in-
tense activity of such intellectual force as each individual
mii;ht jiossess, a cravinir for instruction, an illumination
and direction of conscience by divine guidance, a rejection
of sacerdotal mediation, and a reliam-e ii[)On reason. It
was a ])rocess of slow and lenirthened staires. Where was
this exercise of independent thought and reason to be
trammelled or arrested? Thi' full, complete claim of ec-
clesiastical authority being repudiated, how coidd a portion
or fragment of it be reclaimed ? How could Protestantism
in its development recognize a natui-al or artiticial bound
for its free activity ? Those who would have us believe that
the work and standard for the Reformation were settled at
the start are blind to what they will not see.

These ai'e l)Ut fi-agmentary tokens — thev might be in-
delinit(dy mnlliplied — of the distractions of that forniativ.'
p<>riod of the English ('hnreh altei'nating between the old
and the new onler, into whose alleL'ed (-(unposure and tran-
ipiillity tiie I'ui'ilans are charged with introducing strife and
discord. ATid who were these Puritans V They constituted
fully one-half of tlii' most sincere, scholar! v, learned, high-
minded, and e\erv way noble men among the reformers of

NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 73

England. They were heads and professors in her universi-
ties, eminent divines in her |iiil|iits, exiles on the Continent
during the vaeillations of Henry Ylll. and the martyr-
doms under Mary. They initiated the very first processes
ot tlie Reformation, and were the most constant, consistent,
and resolute adherents to and advancers of it. More than
once ill the alternations and developments of the protracted
strife, the mastery in the direction of affairs seemed as if
it would find tlieni in the majority. In tin? developments
of the long and bitter conflict between the Puritans and
tiie Conformists, some heated, factious, ami unrrasonaljle
spirits did indeed aggravate the contention al)iiut the origi-
)ial, fundamental, and wholly pertinent principles which
were in conflict. But these principles were worthy of and
gave dignity to the noble, earnest scholars, divines, and
statesmen who, as composing the leaders of the Puritans,
aimed for a thorough and consistent reformation and re-
construction of the Church.

Macaulay' thus states the views of some prrhites, none
of whom "belonged to the extreme si'Ctiou of the Piotes-
tant party " : —

'• Maiiv felt a strong repugnance even to tilings inilifTcrpnt, which
had formed part of the polity or ritual of tlic mystical Babylon.
Bishop Hooper, wlio died manfully at Gloucester for liis religion,
long refused to wear the episcopal vestments. Bishop Ridley, a
martyr of still greater renown, pulled down the ancient all;irs of
his diocese. an<l ordered the eucharist to Ite administered in the
middle of churches, at tables which the Pa|)ists irreverently termed
' oysler-boards.' Bishop Jewel pronounced tiie clerical garb to l)e
a stage dress, a fool's coat, a relic of the Amorites, and promised
that he would spare no labor to extirpate such degrading absur-
dities. Archbishoj) Grindal lon;j hesitated about accepting a mitre
from dislike of what he regarded as the mummery of consecration.
Bishop Parkhurst uttered a fervent prayer that tiie C^hurch of
England would propose to herself the Church of Zurich as the

' Hibtorj' of England, cliup. i.

74 THE PURITAN AGE.

alisiilulc pattiTii (if a Cliristiaii coniniuiiity. Bishop Ponet was of
o|iiiiinn tlial ilic wciid •liislicip' sliouM 1)0 iibandoned lo the Papists,
and llial llii; chiil dtlii'iTh (if tin; |iiiri(ied cliurch sliould be calli;d
'supcriiiti'iidciits.' Craiiinir, iiidicd, plainly' avowed his corivic-
tiiiii dial in liic priiiiilivc times their uas iin dihtiiictioii between
biOidps and priests, and that llie laviiij,' on of hands was altogether
nnneiessarv. "

KiiLTiT Williams' ill liis (lUiuiit style [ucsciits the oscilla-
tiiius (if Uic Cliureli uf EneJaiiiJ in its efforts to find an
e'(Hiilil)riiiin : —

" To seeke no further than our native Sovle, within a few scores
of years how many wonderful] changes in Reliyion hath the whole
Kin(jdome made, aceurdini; to the change of the Gorernuurs thereof
in the severall /Religions which they themselves imliraced! Henry
the 7 finds and leaves the Kingdame absolutely Pupish. Henry the
8 casts it into a mould \iii\i Popisli, halle Pruteslant. Edward the 6
brings forth an Edition all Protestant. Queen J/(;rywitliiii a few
yeares defaceth Edward's worke, and renders the Kingdorne (after
her tlrandfatlier Hen. 7 iiis pattern) all Popish. Maries short life
and lieligian ends together ; and Elizabeth reviveth her Brother
AV«'(/)v/'s Mridell — all Protestant. And some eminent Witnesses
of God's Truth against yl/i/('-C7iri'i? have enelincd to believe that
before the downfall of that Beast, England must once againe bow
down her faire Neck to his proud usurping yoake and foot."

It is idb; f(i regard the work and crisis of the Rrforma-
tidu in the English Church as if it were assignable to a
date in tinie, (ir to any decisive step or measure. It was
a work of degrees, stajjes, and methods, nnining through
several reigns, — iidt ciintimious in them, — and with retr(.>-
pressixc iis well ;is \v ith I'esisted and ri|iressi\ (• incidents.
Ilcniy \'lll., thmigh regarded as taking the lead in it, can
lie called ii " iidigimis rtd'oriin'r " (inly under serious (|u;dili-
eations (if liic ]ihrase as we use it. lie was a ]iiilitieal re-
former, in that he e.\tingiiished the thraldom of the I'apacv

' lUdij.ly Tiru'iil (Niiinigiiiisctt (.'lull cil.), pp. 13G-137.

NONCONFORMISTS AND TUE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. ( l>

in its claim to supreme authority in the realm in ecclesi-
astical affairs and in a]ipuintmcnts to all benefiees, and
that he cut off the greedy revenue — rat times exceeding
the royal revenue — which the Popes had extorted from the
King's subjects. lie was a social reformer, in that he hud
broken n]i many of those vile dens called " religious houses."
But no change was made by him in the doctrine, ritual, or
discipline of the Church during his reign. Save that he
was not a Papist, he was no heretic, but lived and died, as
before stated, a good Roman Catholic. The cxliuclion of
the Papal dominancy in tiie realm was indeed the ]ii'imary
and signal act of the llefoi-mation, from which all else fol-
lowed. Henry might at any time have made his peace
with the Pojie, and been left free for a vast deal uf |iiu-ify-
ing and revolutionary and reconstructing work, simply by
yielding liis headship of the English Church tn tlie iJishop
of Rome. And many years afterward wlun thi' work of
reform had greatly advanced, though tiie Pope liail (Iceland
Klizabeth to l)e iUegitimatr, and liad drniid hi_'i- hereditary
right to the ei-own, he oiTered to retract his jud'/mcnt and
sentence, and to allow her subjects the use of the English
liturgy, if she would reinstate him in his old autliority.'

One can but marvel at what we may call the versatility
of the English people, their easy and amiable way of ac-
commodating themselves to the rajiid changes, the advances
and tiie arrests of the work of refoini during the successive
rcitrns. A few prominent in station, or hold and nnrpiail-
ing in standing for personal convictions, paid the pi'ualty
of the [iris(»n, the gibbet, or the slake ; but tfie mass of
the people moved as do the flowing and the eblting tides.
After the six years of the reforming reign of Edward VI.,
the Papacy resumed its sway under the biief and bloody
rule of Marv, and the majority of Edward's bishops and
clergy turned with the tide. P.ut the Pope, during the brief
resumjition of his autiiority, had had the satisfaction in the

' Sharon Turner, Modern Hislory of Eiij^'lanJ, vol. iv. ji. 105.

(0 TIIK PUUiTAN ACE.

four yi';irs (if Mary's rciLTii of Imniiii'j; tlio first rcforincd
A rcliliisli(i(i of Canli'iliiirv ami tlirc(; icfuiiiicd bislioiis, and
111 piitl iiiL'' 1(1 di'alli 111 111 T \ irtiiiis, twii liiiiiijic'il and seventv-
S'M'H ill minilirr. ^\'ll(•n J'llizahrtli caiiii: to the throne the
iiiiiulii'r of crrlcsiaslirs ill (lir rrulin, all noiiiinallv Roman
Cutliolics, \\ as iiiiir tlioiisand and four liiindrrd. All of
these, cM/i'iil aliiint two liiiudred, fnih' and uneoinpfdlod
transferred their alle;_naiiee to the (^men, jicacefully en-
joyed their beneliees, and used tin' ni'W TinLdish forms of
ser\iee and worship in the very ]ilaees where they had just
been celebrating the Mass.

And now as to that supitosed standard to be found in the
reason and nature of tilings for marking the extent and
thoroiiglincss of the reform to be instituted in the organiza-
tion, diseiplinc, and ritual of the Church. Was there such
a standard '.' Could such be found ; and if so, should it be
assumed, even though by a majority, as in itself so just
and reasonable, so suited to advance the ends of piety and
niorality in tin; realm, as to warrant its legal establishment
and enlorci.'meat 't

Among till' various schools and [larties included more
or less tolerantly in the Church of England, has been a
class of men who have thought it to be wise and true to
minimize the extent and nature of tlie dominancy of the
J'apacy in England at the jieriod of the Reformation. They
maintain that an English Church, with an all hut com-
plete autonomy, existed in the realm, with its own organi-
zation and means of independent administration, which had
been gradually eueniached upon, impaired, and tyrannonsly
hroujzht under the sway of Rome. Nothing, therefore, was
needed liut to renounce that hireign usurpation, to dcnv tlic
headship of the Rope, to respond to his intenlict by despis-
ing it, and to resume the oiiL'inal ccclesiastieal order and
svstem whicdi Rome had tem|iorarily perverted.

There is an easy plausibility in this assumption. Rut
how does it stand in view of the strife, the alternatiuLT

NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CHURCH OF ENflLAND. 77

fortunes, tlic royal and parliamentary mcasnres, the contro-
versies and persecutions throiiixli which tlic present Enj^-
lish Establishment was substituted for the old Church of
tlie realm? IJy no means during the age of the Reforma-
tion, either in England or on the Continent, were the whole
import and coTisequcnces of it realized. It has taken the
succession of many generations, developments of expe-
riment, thought, and opinion, and dynastic and political
convulsions and revolutions, to draw out the full results of
the substitution of individ\ialisra in the whole field of re-
ligion for medievalism and the sway of a priesthood. And
Puritanism in its various stages and methods lias been
the continuous force and agency for working that stupen-
dous process. The eflort has been to open for free inves-
tigation, to discredit and make imi)oti'nt, every doLnua,
assumption, and institution which has wrongfully and ty-
rannously brought men under intellectual, spiritual, and
ecclesiastical bondage, and to verify and give free course
to substantial and wholesome truths that can win the con-
victions of intelligent minds, and conserve all the tran-
scendent interests of social, civil, political, domestic, and
private life.

Even the Puritans saw but a tract of the long way be-
fore them in which tiieir principles would find a drvi'lo|)-
ment ; but they recognized clearly tlial jiart of it on wliirii
thev were to advance, and they were resolute in following
it. Thev did not take that complacent view of the ('hurch
into which they were born, — that all that it ncfdcd of re-
form was to substitute their own lay king for a papal eccle-
siastic as its head. Tlie Church of Christ which was so
dear to them, and which claimed their whole love and ser-
vice, had an invisible head in Him, and no vicegerent enuld
represent Plim on the earth. It gives definiteness and force
to the general and comprehensive position on which the
Puritans planted themselves, to assert of them that their
nonconformity consisted in this, — that everything nf doc

78 THE PURITAN AGE.

trine, liicran'liv, inslitutioii, ami ilisciplinc in the Cliurch

(it I'lll'J-lnllil tn wllicll tliry ohjrclrd ailll which tlll'V TC-

iimmccd, hail rmw into it as corruptiuii ami im[H),sition
from tile ihiiiiinaiicy of the l'a|Kif'V. All thfir fcUuu-sub-
jccts of the icahii who syinijathizcd witli the Reformation
became in fact Nonconfoi'misls. That this name and the
position wliicli i( (h;limMi shoidd have come to he restricted
to the Pnritans, simply indicated an arrest in the process
of the Urformatinn.

In the reconsti'iictioii of the reformed Chureli of Knpdand
as a snl)stitiite for the I'a[ial ('inirch, an alternative fire-
sented itself to statesmen and ecclesiastics, and the clioice
wiiich decided between the two methods which were of-
fered settled from that time to this the relations between
conformity and nonconformity. Those statesmen and eccle-
siastics, f(jr reasons which had a ])revailinfr weiLrht with
them, chose a method of compromise and eclecticism. Tliev
wished to conserve some of the elements of tiie hierarchical
and ceremiinial system of the Papal Chnreh. — not. how-
ever, because inherited from that t'hurch, Ijut ujion other
Ci'onnds for approving them. In defei'ence to the jirime
authority of the Scrijitures, they aHii'miMl that nothing was
t(j be enjoined or imposed for lielicf or jiractice but what
could be deduced from those Scriptures, or proved to be
not inconsistent with their teachings. Thus a rnnL'e of
liberty was left in instituting the reformed Cimreh for the
adoption of cei'tain ]iracticcs and usages of thi^ "primitive"'
('imrch, which as lieing traceable in the age immediati'l v
foilowiiiir upon that of the Apostles, might be claimed to
have had their institution or sanction. Tliosc who aee(>pted
this side of the alternative presented at tlie reconstruction
of tlie Church, lieeame eonlormin'_r members of it.

On tlie other side of the alternative, the fundamental,
unipiablied, unyielded ]iosition tenaciously assumed bv the
Puritans in the opening of their strife, and constantly
maintained ever since by those of their religious lincatre,

NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 79

■was the sole and sulTicient use and atithnritv of the Scrip-
tures for all that cuneerned tiie institution, organization,
and discipline of the Christian Ciiurch, its ministry, its
doctrinal tcachiug-, its ritual, and government. They would
not be led outside of the Bible for precedents, arguments,
or usages. The rightfulness or expediency of the position
thus taken by the Puritans was liy no means obvious, and
was fairly ofien to weighty objections raised against it.
The Bible, it was urged in answer to their positii)ii, came
to us as a deposit and legacy from the " Chureli." That
Cliurcii niiLrht have more to give us for faith, for edifica-
tion, and for directing the Christian life in individuals and
in their sacred fellowships. What, it was asked, could be
more natural and reasonable, more t<i be ex])ected, recog-
nized, and welcomed by us, than that the Apdstles, where
<iospel and Epistle closed, shoulij liave b'ft to those who
were to succeed tlieui unwritten directions and counsels
to be reverently transmitted in tradition and usage, and
which, liaving been carefully identified and verified, should
go down with the Scriptures as comment or su[)jilcment
to guide the Church ?

Most certain it is that the Puritans would have gladlv
welcomed and reverently oijeyed all such Apostolical teach-
ing and usage of this character as admitted of being dis-
tinctively certified to them. It was indeed but reasonable
to have looked for it ; but when it caine to the search for
oriirinal and certified Apostolical tradition the result was
disappointing. Many of those Puritans were profoundly
learned and seholaiiy men, far surjiassiiig the scholars of
our age in their skill and mastery of the lore for the
studv of antirpiity, of firimitive times, of the works of the
Fathers, and of ecclesiastical liistoiy. For learning and its
materials were then mostly confined to such themes, in-
stead of gathering into it the present enormous wealth of
literature and science. The Puritans searched earnestly
and patiently through those ancient stores which now pass.

HO Till-: rURITAN ACE.

even amoiiL' llicii' (]i'sccii(l;iiits, as rulibish. We liavc in
usr a Kyiuliiil called tlir "Apostles' Creed;" but it ean be
(raced baelv only (ci tlie fourth century. Wliat a boon
woidd millions liave cHteenied it if tliei-e liad been certified
to us a real Aposlles' d'eed, — a summary, distinct state-
ment, in sim|ile lane'uafre, of the cardinal teacliiufrs for a
lixinij, devout, and edifying'- belief! Wliat a resource and
substitute would this June l.ieen f(jr the dismal and unsat-
isfactory task of searcliinfr through the iJiblc, fractured into
fragments, for sentences, half-sentences, and words to be
patched into mosaics for setting forth a creed I Jiul the
wheat and the chafT of ]iatristic divinity were threshed and
winnowed ; the results are to lie found in folios which
would bridge the ocean. That " jirimitive " f.'hurch litera-
ture was found by the I'uritans to be bitterly disa[ipointing.
In the mass it ]jroved to be an extended and humiliating
commentary upon hints dropped by the pens of the Apos-
tles al)Out tliose who in their time were corrupting " the
simjilicity of the Gospel,'' " causing divisions and strifes,"
" seeking to have the pre-eminence." The Puritan Milton
had studied with equal zeal the classic authors and the
antiquities of the Church. He pronounced tlie latter to be
tlic gatherings of "the drag-net of tradition." Whatever
else is to l)e said of this primitive and jiatristic literature,
this is to be alhi-med, — that fertile as have proved the con-
tents of the Scriptures for word controversy, textual strife,
and doctrinal variance, the conflicts, heresies, and conten-
tions of Christians have found more abounding and dis-
tracting material in patristic and ecclesiastical theologv.
When we consider how small is the nucleus of positive and
certified truth as to documents, iiersons, and facts with
which we have to start, and then reali/.e the enormous ac-
cretions and developments accumulated and transmitted as
justly or erroneously held to share tlieir value and author-
ity, we no longer wonder over the dismal and fearful mate-
ri.ils of Church historv. It wotdd be a relief if we could

NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CHURCU OK ENGLAND. 8l

assure ourselves tliat as the trunk, boughs, branehes, twigs,
and leaves of the gigantic and spreading oak all partake of
the essence and quality ol the tiny acorn, so all that now
stands to represent the outgrowth of the original Gospel
of Jesus Clirist bears with it the virtue and power of the
germ. Many men of the clearest intellect and most sin-
cere in purpose, with the learning of sages and the skill
and acumen of judicial minds, have set to themselves the
fond task, probing the (juestion to its depths, to reach to
and verify the root-facts about the personal life, history,
and teaching of Jesus Christ. Some of these seekers have
given forth the results of their search for the help of
others. The effort resembles somewhat the retrospective
musings of an aged jierson in an attrnipt to cast aside
the impressions and exi>eriences gathered from long years,
that he may revive the fresimess of his early childhood.

But the way was clear for the Puritans, under tlieir ex-
alted estimate of and way of using the Bible, — which will
be further defined in f(jllo\ving pages, — to jilant them-
selves upon the Scrijitures as the sole authority for them
in matters of faitli and Churcii institution and discipline.
When they were told that their attempt to confine them-
selves strictly to a simj^le Scriptural model was unreason-
able and imjiracticuljle, thry were content to reply that it
ought not to be so, and that on the face of the statement
they detected false lures and risks of eiTor. There were
questions enough, they said, opened within the Scrijitures
which all jirofessed to believe ; but that outside of the
Holy Book they were all adrift. Puritanism, then, as rep-
resented by the Nonconformists, — loving and clinging to
their mother church, which had come under usurped and
corrupting foreign thraldom, — stood for a return to the
simjilicity of the first discijileship and fellowship among
Christians as set forth in the New Testament. If the
Puritan scholars and champions were drawn into contro-
vcrsv outside those [lages, they were ready, with a secon-

a

82 THE PURITAN AGE.

dary oarncstnosH, aa if defending only outworks, to follow
t licii- ndvcrsai'ics into wliut tlicy rc^'ai'ded as the hogs and
s\vani|is of (lie post-Apostolie centuries. Hut tlunr zeal
and tlieii- primary efforts were spent in maintaining that
the Scriptures were the sole and sufiicicnt authority for
thcni, anti in searching through tliem foi- the light and
guidance which they needed. One of the most interesting
and effective methods l)y which i'uritanism wrought its
earliest and most radical work, was one which came into
practical and earnest use at the Reformation, and one
which has ever since — coming down throuLdi the heritage
f I'uritaniam — been a most pojiular and edifying usage
mong the non-prelatical and indciicndent fellowship.? of
Christians. The Roman Church knew nothing of lay-
conferences, or of the intermeddling of the laity in any
way with religious debatings. Still less had there been
imder the old priestly rule even a trace of wliat immedi-
ately after the rupture of unity became so familiar as
" Bil)le reading," — the solace, joy, and soul sustenance of
the Puritans. The Church had taught its confiding chil-
dren that it was not foi' tlieni to concern themselves with
ijuestions of faith, or discussions of religious mysteries;
she alone had knowledge, wisdom, and authority in these
matters. They were simply to acce]it her teachings ; she
was charged with the sacred deposit, and would dispense
its treasures to all her docile children.

Puritanism found its early nurture and vigor in private
assemblies for conferences, ]iraycr, and Scripture cxjiosi-
tion ; and in these earnest nu'ctings, led by nuMi among
the ablest of tluMr time in learning ami loftiness of pur-
jiose, they sought to revive the ])rimitive simplicity of the
Apostolic ministry They traced througli the inspired I'cc-
ords, into most minute jmrtieulars and with a microscojiic
study of texts, the usages of the lirst generation of disci-
ples, and drew from them a model of what the Church
ought to be for all time. It was thus that thcv were made

NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 83

to realize what a stupendous, towering, and oppressive sys-
tem of priestly and eeclesiastieal entlirahuent had substi-
tuted itself, through the Papacy, for the original fellowship
of Christian disciples. Their amazement first, and then
their indignation, was excited by the contrast. It was but
the natural working of the elements of human nature that
their revolt from Rome should pass into hatred of all that
it had devised of superstition, priestcraft, imjiosition, and
tyranny in doctrine, rite, and discipline, in trifles as well
as in the most august observances. The hatred grew to
bitterness, finding its expression in th(^ well-worn phrases,
"the rags of Popery," "the mark of the Beast," "Anti-
christ," and "the Scarlet Woman."

From the leading rule of the Puritans — that they would
follow in all things the model and precedent of Srii[iture —
were deduced all their otiier priiuiples. There tliey found
the "pattern" for the composition and institution of a
fellowship or church among disciples of Christ. Tiie min-
ister or teacher was in no sense a priest. The line of
teachers would follow from tiie A[)Ostles, certified by the
transmission — not through the touch of human hands, but
through oracles of truth — of what tliey themselves had
taught. One of these Apostles had tliiis instructed a be-
loved disciple of his own: "The things that thou hast
heard of me among many witnesses, tlie same commit thou
to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also." '
" Faithful men," " able to teach," — there, for the Puritan,
lay the qualification and the function of the Christian min-
ister. From that simjile model the Puritan asserted an-
other of his ro(jt-principles, — the parity and equality of
Christian ministers. There was no occasion or warrant for
orders or ranks among them. They were all "brethren;"
they were to have no " master." With what amazement,
then, would the Puritan turn to study the process by
which a domineering and haughty hierarchy, with all its

1 2 Timothy, ii. 2.

84 THE rUtUTAN AGE.

^n\'nl;ilii)ii.s (il (liLmily, its [ircro^futivfs, its rohinfrs, its
iiiitics, its ciositTs, ;uiil its piiilr <il |]i)\vcr, hud substitutod
itself for liiu curly f('ili)ws|ji|) (if " tlic ministers of tfie
Word"! Tliorc wus no cDint in f'iiristciidoin, no feudal
ilistriliiition of ruiiks ol iioliilil}' duun to si.'ifdoiii, wliicli
frdiu the loftiest tn the lowliest, in tlie allotment of pre-
niLMtives and privile^res, could coniiiare itself with the
priesthood of the Roniun ('hnrcli. \\'ith I^ojie and eardi-
nuls ut the ln'ud, (dusinir with u retinue of friai's, it rep-
resented a ]iower iu the temporal affairs of men which
well-nigh made them foi-L'Ct the stages of its growth and
aggrandizement. The eireumstunees of theii- own time
and e.\[)ericnce caused the Puritans in England to suffer
from the arrogance and oppressions of those whom thev
called the " Ijord Bishops." — tempoiul and spiritual peers,
witii baronial rights and ecclesiastical courts and processes.
So licre again the Puritans turned back to Scripture, and
found there no warrant for these clerical dignitaries suc-
ceeding to such as in the Roman Churcli hud iieen high
ministers of State, planning nnd executing military cam-
paigns. They cf)uld not believe' that the Christian minis-
try, consistently witli the original simplicity of its purpose
and service, could offer a held of gi'aded lionors and digni-
ties parallel to that in social ranks and relations in the
ci\ il state. The jirizes were to be won, also, iiy ambition,
corruption, patronage, and intrigue ; and w hen so won
would be worn arrogantly and offensiv(dy.

The Preface to the Ordinal of the English Hook of Com-
mon Prater opens with this sentence : •• It is evident unto
all men diligently reading lioly Scripture and ancient au-
thors, that irom the Ajioslles' time there hav(^ been these
Ordei's of ministers in Christ's Chureh, — liishops, priests,
and deacons." In dealing with this sentence the Puritans,
for reasons ulreadv slated, would leave unnoticed the ref-
erence to " ancient uulhors," wliom they ruled out of the
case, and tiiev would sniislitute in for front " thi> Apostles'

NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 85

time." Of tlie sentence thus iiualilied, l('a\ ing it to ex-
press what alone had pertinency for them, they would
ofTer a sturdy and [lositive denial, which would be ap-
proved by all who represent them on -this point at the
present day, who would urge that in the sentence the as-
sertion of its beinjx "evident tn all men" would have
required large e.xcejitiops, amounting even to a majority
nil the other side. The Puritans, recognizing the special
dignity and functions of the Apostles, in which they could
have no successors, could find but a single Order of min-
isters in the New Testament. They found the terms
" bishop," or " overseer," and " presin'ter," or " elder," t(.i
lie used interchangeably and synonymously, as designating
the same persons. As for deacons being an " Order of the
ministry," tlicy turned to the record for the plain evidence
that so far from Ijcing an Order uf the ministry, having
advancement in oflice in view, they were ciiosen for the
express purjiose of lilling a different service, — namely, to
relieve others discharging " tbr ministry of the \V(ird "
from a burdensome task which diiJ not belong to tliem.
They sought for the first selection nf deacons in the first
jilanting of the Cliristian Church. This they found in the
Acts of the Apostles, chap. vi. verses 1-6, together with a
charming dischjsnre of the jealousies of human nature,
even in the freshness of the first Cliristian generation.
The carlv fellowshij) embraced alike Jewish and (Jentile
converts. A murmur arose among the latter that the
Ajiostlcs, in allotting distributions from a common fund
for the relief of those who needed aid, showed a ]iartiality
for the widows of their own Jewish race. Seeming to ri'-
scnt the charge, "the Twelve called the multitude of the
disciples unto them," — afterward known as "the laity,"
without any function in such matters, — and spoke to
them as follows ; " It is not i-eason that we should leave
the Word of Cod and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren,
look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of

8(i TIIIO PURITAN AGE.

tlic IIolv Gliost and wisdom, whom wc may afipoint over
tliis business. But we will jrive ourselves continually to
prayer and to tlic ministry of tlie Woi'd. And the saying
pleased the whole multitude; and tliey chose" — seven men
named — "whom they set before the Apostles: and when
they had prayed, they laiil their hands on them." The I'u-
ritans, witli acuteness ami force of arjrument, drew many
inferences from this jilain statrment, which ]jroved emhar-
rassinfj to their opponents. Here was distinctly recofrnizcd
the rifrht and privilege of those afterward called " the
laity " to make the primary selection of officers in their
churches, — a right of which they were wholly deprived in
the Church of Rome and in the Chuich of England, and
which, having been sturdily stood for by the Puritans and
other Dissenters, was recovered by the lay members of the
Episcopal denomination wjien organized in the United
States. Again, it apjieared from the text that the first
seven " deacons," ' so far from being chosen as an initia-
tory "order" ]ireparatory to an advancement to higher
grades in the ministry, were elected for a service quite
distinct from the ministry, and in order to release those
charged with the ministry from a vexatious task which
did not belong to them, — namely, that of distributing
charity gifts and having care for widows. After they had
lieen chosen by the people, the Apostles transferred the
funds to them. The Puritans also argued that the " laying

^ It is trur tiiat tlip tilli- " deacons " is nnt attached to the seven jxrsons
thus chosen. But the functions and oflices here ixssigned them idcutifv them
with the olTicere afterward so named. Jerome calls deacons "attond.ints on
tables and widows." There is not a 6in;;le C4i.se mentioned in the New Testa-
ment of pj-oriiotion from one Order in the ministry to a higher one. There J3
a sin^'li' sentence from the ])cn of S.iint I'.iul (1 Tiui. iii. 13) : " For they
tli:it have used the oITicc of a dencon well, purchase to themselves a pood
drrjrrr," — which has heen used as intimating stapes and ranks in a line of
l»roniotion in the ministry. The wonl ^a0^Ui% has, indeed, for one of its
nieaninps, a str}i, or a stmr. But it also means a standing. The Kevised
Vei-sion renders the text, - "they that have served well as deacons gain to
Ihemselves a good standing."

NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 8(

on of hands " by the ApostU'S was simply a formal desifr-
natiou of the candidates, and did not imply a " |j;ift to them
of the Holy Ghost," inasmuch as a primary condition of
tiieir nomination and selection as " deacons," or servants,
was that they should be known already to the community
as men " full of the Holy Ghost." The qualifications re-
quired, and the service to be i)erformed seem on the face
of them rather sujrijestive of that class of grave and elderly
men known in Congregational churches as " deacons,"
overseers of charities, and helpers of ministers in temporal
matters, having no view to advancement in the ministry,
than of the young and inexperienced candidates for the
ministry in the Episcopal communion. It is true tiiat
some of these first deacons afterward exhorted in meet-
ings of the disciples ; but Congregational deacons liavc
always been free to do this, according to occasion ami
ability. The first of these deacons soon became the first
martyr, — .'^tejihcn. But was either one of the seven by
subsequent "ordination" advanced in tlie ministry as a
presbyter or bishop ? The writer may inciijcntally state
here, that, so far as his memory serves liim, he cannot
recall a case in the early or more recent history of New
p]nglaiid in wliich a deacon of a Congregational Church
became an ordained minister. Of course, there may have
been such cases, but as an almost universal rule there
was a well undei-stood recognition of distinctive sets of
gifts and qualities had in view in the selection of f)astors
and deacons. It was no bar to the appointment of one of
the latter officers that he had not been well educated, that
he was lame in speech and lacking in yiersonal graces,
and so disqualilied for the ministry. There were also
"deaconesses" in the early Church. These, however, did
not make an "order" in the ministry, though they were
beloved and honored in the fellowship. It has proved no
casv ta.sk for prelatists to invalidate the Scriptural argu-
ment of the Puritans on this point.

88 THK PUniTAN ACK.

Tlicn if, as tlio ruritaiiH insisted on grounds of Scripiture,
bishujjs and jiresbyters were only two names for dosipnat-
iriLj indillereiillv niic ami the same class of ministers. — all
in a parity, there being several nf them, whom we should
DOW call pastors of churclies in (jne eity. as in Kpliesiis, —
the I'linlans asked how it eame about that the word
■' bisiio|i " bail been acerpted as till- title of a superior
anioiii; his lirethren. with sjiecial and e-xalted funetions
over them, and the clerical or spiritual head of all "the
inferior clcrfr\' " of a diocese or jjrovinee '.' Thi'V read in
the "Acts" that tlic Apostles made renewed visits to the
disciples in the cities wiiere they were gathered, "confirm-
ing the churches."' This conveyed to Puritan rcadci's the
idea that these visits wore designed for further and fnller
teaching of imperfectly trained coinpanies of early disciples.
But the word "confirmation," without the slightest war-
rant for such a use of it, was sclecti^d and emphasized
in that text as the basis of the rule that only the bishop of
a province or diocese, no matter how- many able and faith-
ful ministers were servint; churches in it, had authority to
admit a candidate to the Lord's Sujiiier. The Puritans be-
ing reh'iT(^d to "ancient authors" <in these points, deidiiied,
for reasons iriven, to I'ccogni/e those warring and conflict-
ing writers, and insisted upon a reference to the " Word,"
wliicli was silent u]ion these pretensions. But as to the
" Fjord Bishops" of the Church of England, the Puritans
[Hit tliemselves in a very decided position of disapproval
and antagonism. At the time (if the Reformation everv
one of tlie TMiglish bishops was under an oath of obedience
to the Pope, and bcjil oHice unilei- that obli^'-ation. When
the authorit\' of the Pupe was prostratcii and repudiated,
the lay monarch iiecame the " head of thi^ Cliurch." The
Puritans came to reirard the process li\- which bishops oli-
tained tenure of their exalted otliees as a mere farce. The

' Acts xiv. 2-: ; xv. 41.

NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 89

monarch apjxiinted them, leaving to the Cha[itcrs a pre-
tended right of choice, which amounted merely to the ab-
surd privilege of ratifying the choice already made. These
bishops became literally " lords over God's heritage," of
the highest order of nobility, introducing into the Church
all the passionate rivali'ies and jealousies of worldly ambi-
tion. From the towering pride and rule of these function-
aries the Puritans turned back again to their stronghold of
Scripture, and planted themselves on the (Jospcl rule of the
parity of ministers, whether servinur in a palace or in a
hovel, whether having the ear of a monarch or laboring in
the humblest hamlet. If some Christian ministers affected
the state of nobles, others must accept the lot of vassals.
It would be difficult to express in the same mnnbcr of
words an idea more discordant with the s[)irit and letter of
the primitive teaching of Jesus Christ, than goes with the
phrase " tlic inferior clergy," used to designate all ordaineii
clergymen below the rank of |>relatcs. It has even come
into use in the Episcopal fellowship on this side of the
ocean. Evidently its only significance must attach to it as
designating a lower degree of rank, dlL'nity, and office, —
all inapplicable in the Ciiristian ministry. For, as a mat-
ter of fact, the inner history of the English Church has
abundantly proved that amomj '' the inferior elergv " have
ever been found its most devoted, laborious, consistent, and
faithful ministers. To this claim of l(ir(l1\' rank and pi-e-
cmincncy for the l)isho]is was added the exclusive power of
ordination for the ministry, to continur in the Ciuirch "the
Apostolical succession."" ' The reformed churches on the
Continent did not commit themselves to this theory as
necessary for tlic continuance of "a valid ministry." For
the English Puritans it was enough to assure themselves,

^ The translators of otir English version of the New Testament contriveil
not only to assign a " bishopric " to .Inilas, but also to quote the P.salniist as
prophesying of him in that dignity (Acts i. 20). The revised version substi-
tutes the word "office."

90 THK PURITAN AGE.

tliiougli tlicir mastery of the historical learning bearing
oil the suliject, that it would have been — as Archbishop
\Vhately in our own time forcibly ami candidly urged — ut-
terly impossible for any bishoj) or jirelate to have traced
his ofticial lineage back to the Apostles. What with the
lay bislinjis and the " i)oy bishops " of mediucvalism, there
would have been many missing links and also many rotten
links in the chain. But the Puritan protest struck deeper
than that ; it refused to confound the vitalities of the
Christian religion with a form or ceremonial restricting
the gift of Apostolic grace to the hands of a prelate. The
cogency of the Puritan argument on this point has been
candidly yielded in these calmer times of controversy and
discussion. For though among the divines and champions
of the English Church there are those who insist that " a
valid ministry " of the Christian religion can be secured
only thr(jugli prelatical ordination, the assumption is modi-
fied and diminished in more moderate assertions of it, till
Episcopal ordination is content to present itself as simply
a police method for the orderly introduction of proper can-
didates into the ministry.

The Presbyterians equally claim an Apostolical succes-
sion in their ministry, — a presbyterial episcopate, descend-
ing through the line of presbyter-bishops. Indeed, a series
of recent historians, divines, and lecturers on foundations
in the Church of England might be cited here, as yielding
the strength of the position taken by the Puritans on these
formerly shar[ily-contested questions of prelacy and the
Apostolical succession. The change in the spirit as regards
impartiality and candor in which Church writers now deal
with themes once so unfairly and passionately treated by
tiiem, is 80 marked and so commendable that it will not be
a digression to illustrate it here. The reformers of the
conservative [)arty in the Church of England, standing be-
tween the Romanists and the Puritans, had to deal with
both liorns of a dilemma. In disputing with the Puri-

NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 91

tans, who planted themselves strictly ami exclusively upon
the Christian Scriptures and the Apostolic age, their o\)-
ponents had to justify themselves for trespassing outside of
those Scriptures and into the post-Apostolic period, and in-
sisting that for an undefined and undefinable period called
'• primitive," and in certain accredited patristic writings,
they could find materials for creed and jiolity which had
substantially the autlim-ity of the commissioned founders
of the Christian Church. But in dealing with the cham-
pions of the old unrcformed Church, they were rightfully
challenged for a merely arbitrary selection of a line and
standard in accepting or rejecting matters which were
claimed to be of primitive tradition and usage. The lead-
ing s[)irits of the work of reformation under Edward VI.
were guided by a sincere purpose of conforming tiic Church,
its formularies and services, as closely as possible to the
letter and spirit of the Scriptures. But this [lurpose was
not followed in subscf|uent revisions of the formularies and
in ada[itations of the ecclesiastical system in the reign of
Elizabeth. James I. was fond of all Romanism excejit tlic
I'ojic. ITow all attenifits at inclusion and comj)rehension
of the Christian people of the reahn umier one fuhl with
a common worshi]) and discipline have failed since, even
when propitious opiiortunities have been offered for them,
need not here be reviewed. A fresh oppoi'lunity, witli lirlp-
ful provocatives to the improvemiMit of it, seems now to be
ofTering itself. The existing Enirlish Cburch is the con-
struction or residuum — whichever we may clinuse to call
it — of a compromise betweecn Puritanism ami the old
Romanism. Whether that result of compromise was, or
was not, the only way of disposing (jf tiie issues of the
times and circumstances under which it was reached, need
not be here discussed. But that church of compromise
finds matters to-day very much in the same condition as
they were in the reign of Elizabeth ; and the (juestion now
is whether compromise shall be extended under new terms

92 THR PURITAN AGE.

and ai] iustiiu'iits, or yield to moro radical measures. Tlif
thicatriird disestablishment of the Chiirfli of Kngland,
witli the intent to dejirivc i( of the c.xtdii.sive [irivilefres and
monopolies \\hi<'li it lias enjoyed for tlirei.' centuries, re-
\ivcs — indeed, llie\' lia\e ne\er lieen in alieyam.'e — tlie
same pleadiiiL's, ar^ninients, and |irinei[)les whicli were so
resolutely maintained hy the I'uiilans of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries. As a matter of fact the English
Cliiirch is hill one sect anioni: iiraiiy sects of the realm. The
artrunients so injieniously, not to say artfully. |ilied to dis-
p-uise the fact arc in part ficrversions of history, and in
part deductions from tlie actual prixileces (if favoritism
which the Church enjoys. Civil enactments have made
over to her exclusively the vested ecclesiastical property of
the realm, — cathedrals, y)arish-cliurclies, and henevolcnces,
representation in the upper house of Parliament, patronage
at the Court, in the Army and the Navy, — while half the
snhjects of till' realm stand outside the fold. The case
stands thus; The eler<:y of the Church of Encrland, with
no advantaL'e or superiority wliatever over the Noncon-
formists, or Jtisscnters, in learnincr, character, abilities, oi-
any of the best i|ualil'ieations for thi' Christian ministry, or
of lidelity and success in its work, have as of worldly ad-
\antaije just what is secured to them liy privilesre and
patronaire, by I'arliamentary law. The unst'ttled lejjacy
of the controversy with Dissent still |irevents unity or
Comprehension in the Clnirch, while " Romanizimr" ten-
ileucies preserve the fidl \itality of tlie uncompromising
CInn-ch of the Papacy.

I'nder these eirenmstanees it is gi'atifying to read, as
coming numerously fi'oni the pr(^ss (hiiing the last score of
yeai's, volumes from the pens of learned, abh\ and candid
divines and scholars of the Chundi of Ivigland, which not
only allow, but even urge and insist upon, the position and
jirincijiles of the Puritans as to the supreme and exclusive
authority and sulTiciency of the New Testament Scriptures

NONCONFORMISTS AND TUE CUURCH OF ENGLAND. 93

and of the Apostolic age for deciding all matters of Chris-
tian belief and cliurch institution and discipline. 1 have
imagined the sati.sfactiun and delight with which John
Winthrop or John Cotton would have read one such vol-
ume which 1 have now in my hands. ^ Nothing but the
oflFicial designation of the author on the titlcpage and a
few incidental allusions would ]iersuade a reader that the
book was not written by an original Puritan. Winthrop or
Cotton would have exclaimed on reading it, '• Why could
not the English churchmen of our timi' have recognized
the force and validity of these arguments as they came
from our lips and pens?" A few passages from the pages
of this learned and candid Puritan Conformist in the
Church of England in the latter part of the ninrteenth
century, will show the identity of his views with those of
the Puritan Nonconformists of the beginning of the seven-
teenth century. Referring to the assumption that besides
tiie Scriptures of the New Testament ami the usages
authorized by the A]iostles thi.'mselves in the institution
and discipline of the Church, the following jiost-Apostolic
age furnishes for two or more centuries, called " primi-
tive," certain other usages which may l)e presumed to have
had the sanction of the Apostles, l>r. Jacob writes : —

"The ojiiriiou tliat we .irt- houiiii (lutiiiillv to submit to tlic'
authoritv, ami ought to be guided by thi' prartice and pxample, of
the Church as it was iu the lirst three, four, or any other centuries,
however prevalent and plausiljle, is delusive and ensnaring. Tlic
Church of tlie Aj)Ostolic period is the only Church iu which tliere
is found au authority justly claiming the acknowledgment of Chris-
tian bodies in other times. And such autliurity' is found in this
Church, not because it was possessed of a truer oatliolicity or a
purer constitution or a more primitive anticjuity than belong to

' The Ecclesiastical Polity of the New Testament. A Study for the present
Crisis in the Church of England. By the Rev. G. A. Jacob, D.D., late
Hcml-Master of ChriNt's Hosjiital. Fifth American Edition. New York:
Thomas Whitaker, 1878.

'■'J THE PURITAN AGE.

siii-ccciliii;r M^cs, — for iicillicr :iiitii|iiitv, nor purity of form, nor
catliolicil y ronffis any ri^lii tn Licivi-ni (jr cciinriiaMd, — but because
il was inidcT tlic imiiicdiatr rule ami ;.'uiilaiic-L- of tlie Apostles;
ami it is lliiii- infallible jiicl^'nicnl alcnn-. as (■xliibittd in tbis
< linn h, wiiich bas a IcL'iliiMatr claim lo niir .submission. i)i tbe
(linTrli ol Mil iillirr prriml ran till' haniu be said, because tbe
Apiisllis bad 111) sniTis.siirs in llicir olliie. Tbev stand alone.
Tliiy siand alone as tbe divini ly inspired teachers, le^^islators, anfl
rulirs in Cbrisl's Clninb and kini'dmn. They stand alone as men
appiiiniid ami riinnnissinmd by Clirist birnself, and not by man;
ulnrras all Christian ministers simc tbiir lime, of whatsoever
nrdiT ur dejjree, have been fallible mrn, ami have been appointed
ami commissioned by man, — liy the authorilv of tbe [larticular
( linrcl) in which they were to minister. The promise of our Lord
that lie Mould be witli the Apostles even to tiie end of the world,
as it did not secure to them a continuance on earth beyond their
own generation, so neither did it erit;ai;e or imply that other.s with
a similar [lower and autboritv should succeed them. With faithful
preachers nf ('hri.-.t. and sound teachers of His word and doctrine,
and diligent pa^lnrs iif His lliiek, their divine Master h:is in all
au'e-. lieeii present by lli> spirit. Hut no Christian ministers hav-
iiiL; riceived the commissiiin or inspiration of the Apostles, none of
them could inherit the Apostoli<' olhce, nor could they individually
nr in any collective body ever possess tlie .\postolic authority.
And a.s nil Church minister^, so milher the Church itself of any
|io,st-Apostolic time — in whatever mode we may suppose it to have
uttered a united voice — has ever had any .\postolic or divine
aiilhiiriiN to which after-ai.;es o»eil subinission. The opinion that
such submission is due to the Church of any ^i^''" period c;in be
justified only on the supposition that the Church of that period
w.is infallible ; that, in f.ict, our Lord was then so jirescnt with
the visilde Church as miraculously to exempt it from error in the
exercise of its legislative and administrative functions, in doctrine
ami in practice. lint if so, is then' any LTronml whatever for re-
jectini; the claims of infallibility smb as are persistently and con-
sistently put forward by the t'burch of Ktmie ? Is tliere any
LMiinnd whatever for .ascribini,' this sanction to the Nicoiie period,
and deiivin;; il to tbe modern I'apacy ? For surely it is imjios-

NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 95

siblc, with any show of reason or truth, to draw the line at any one
phice in the liistory of the Church after tlie Apostles had been
withdrawn, and to say, Before this the Cluircli was divinely pre-
served from error ; after this, it was fallible and erred. There is
unquestionable evidence that soon after the Apostles disappeared
the Church was no longer always guided by the spirit of truth and
wisdom, but on tlie contrary gradually yielded to the seductions
of error. I appeal, therefore, from the Nicene Fathers to the
Apostles of Christ, from patristic literature to the New Testament,
from ecclesiastical authorities and practices of post-Apostolic cen-
turies to the primitive Churcli of the Apostolic age. To go back
to that time and to endeavor as far as possible to reproduce the
Church of the New Testament is most needful for us now, if we
would preserve a faithful and distinct acknowledgment of Christian
truth among our people. . . .

'■ Most interesting, though not witlinut il-^ sadness, it is to trace
the characteristic features of the Cluirih of Christ In its primitive
and Apostolic sUite ; and then to mark how its grand and spiritual
simplicity, preserved awhile after the departure of the Apostles,
began even in the earliest centuries to l)e niarri'd by the doctrines
and inventions of men, and to be overlaid with imposing but super-
stitious ceremonials. . . .

"The Lord's .Supper, in its original institution the most simple
of all religious ordinances, became in the hand.', of men a most
awful mystery. In its Apostolic use a pledge of soiiniln<'ss in th(^
faith, it was made in the hands of men an I'Xample of gross su[ier-
stition and idolatrv. In its divine intention a bund of brotherly
love and iiuitual kindness, it was chan^iMl in the hands of men
into an occasion of the most cruel persecution. No idea of a sacri-
fice wa.s attached to its celebration ; no ciiange was supposed to
take place in the sacred elements : no virtue to be imparted to
them or througli them by tlie administrator ; no presenri- of Christ
in them or wil/i them in any especial or peculiar manner. But
in the post-Ai)ostolic Church all this was grailuall\ rban:.'ed, until
at last the service was represented as a sacrifice offered np(jn an
altar by a priest, tlie elements were spoken of and worshipjied as
if they were Christ himself ; and other gross superstitious naturally
ensued. . . .

OG THE runiTAN AGE.

"The rmtliiirirv li> wliirli iilunc \vi- xlinulii u|)[ieal is that of the
I)i\inc llcail ol the wliole Church, as it miiy he gathered from
the wonls ai](i aeli(jiis of His inspired Apostles. Tin; only safe
mid lrL;iliiiiate ediirsi' in all our Church reforms is to go to the
iS'ew 'restaiiieul as our 1,'uide." '

^\'ll:ll u ri'S|iuii.si\o assent would our old I'uritun Non-
conloruiisls hinc f^ivcii to the l(_)llo\ving stutunient : ■ —

" The iler^v, not being a jiriestly caste, or a mediating, sacri-
licing, ahsuhing order, Ijut Church officers appointe<l for the
niaintenance of due religious solemnity, the devout exercise of
Christian worship, the instruction of tlie people in divine truth,
and their general edification in righteous living, are the acting
representatives of the Chui-ch to which they helong, and derive
their ministerial authority from it. In the words of Archbishop
W'hatelv, the clergv are merely the functionaries of the particular
( hunli of whicli tliey are members; it is in that cafiacity only
that they derive their station and jiowcr frcim Christ, by virtue of
the sanctions L;iven bv Him to Christian communities. Their au-
tlniril\, theri lure, cduies direct from the society so constituted, io
wluxse natne and behalf they art as its representatives, just to that
extent to which it has empowered and directed them to act." ^

As regards prescribed forms and liturgical services in
worship in the early Ciiurcli, Or. .Jacoli writes : —

'•All the evidence directly deducilile from the New Testament
is against tin' use of such formularies in the Apostolic age. Nor
throughout the second century is any reliable testimony to be
fiinnd indicative of any considerable .alteration in this respect.
( )ii theconlrar\, the jiruvers of thi' Clnirch, described by .lustia
Martyr, seem to have depended upon tlie ability and discretion
of the olliciating minister as much as they did in the preceding
(X-ntury." "

' Th.' Er, Ivsiiistiral Tulity of the Nl-w TosUiiumiI, ]ip. 2:.-'29, 2S,'>, 324,

■.y.'.y. :iiH.

•' 1 1.1.1., p 12:!

» ii.i.i., |.|., 'jji-'^'j^.

NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 97

As I am writini:r these papres, the religious journals of
the various denominations are lartrely discussing proposi-
tions to advance tiie promotion of " Christian Unity "
among them. The subject had a hearing in the last Con-
vention of the Protestant Episcopal denomination, whicii
set forth the requisite conditions for its own engagement
in the object. Its response was indeed more courteous than
would have been an absolute refusal to be a party to tlie
end proposed ; but it could not be more effective than
would have been such a refusal in utterly disc(juraging
any expectation of sympathy or help from that denomina-
tion in the advancement of Ciiristian Unity.'

That response exacted a condition with whiih not a
single one of the other Christian fellowships — whether
much larger than the Episco]ial, or smaller — will ever
comply. The condition was tiiat all tiiese other fellow-
ships should conform themselves to the tlirury that " Epis-
copal ordination " is indis])ensable for the valid ministry
of Christ's Gospel. To all outsiile the Episcopal cummun-
ion tliis assumption is either a puerile conceit, (ir a pom-
pous assertion of some exclusive right or sacramental
grace which eludes all demands upon it for a clear, frank,
and intelligible definition of wliat tiic claim covers. The
as.sertion of the Roman CInireh that salvation is ini[)ossiiile
outside of its communion, defines a position about which
there can be no misunderstanding. iJut tliough tberr lias
been such voluminous discussion and controversy about
tiic " Apostolical succession " and the exclusive jireroga-
tives of "Episcopal ordination," one may look in vain —
except it may be in the jiages of some extravagant cham-
pion — for a clear strong statement of the loss, the

1 One might bo tempted licre to ilil^itc upon tlie utter inaiierpiaey of the
conception of "Ciiristian Unity" as really coneerninjj heart sontinients of
sympathy, love, diffusive and eomprehensive Ciiristian effort, by persons hold-
ing an infinite variety of beliefs and opinions ; which seems to b« had in
view by those who are proposing " an organic unity," — a thing undesirable,
even if possible.

nS THE PURITAN AGE.

li:irm, Oic pori!, or fionaltv wliich is risked hv a Christian
iiiitsiilc of till' K[(isc,o|iali;iii conimtinioii. Is (Jospcl truth
thus de[irivcd of its jiowcr over his lioart and hfc, or docs
\\r expose iiimself to a reduecd share in the ijlcssinfr going
with it? Ill other wcjrds, what covenant jirivilcfres, im-
munities, and serurities are monopolized h}' Kpiscopfilian
Christians ? 'J'ill sometliiiitr more than vague and eloudi,d
oracnhir assurn[ilions and inliniations are defined as as-
suring tlic cxehisive claims of I'^jjiscopacy, thov will be
likely to be regarded as they are now by non-Episcopalians,
as simple bugbears. Protestants generally acipiiesce jda-
cidly in the slight cast upon their ministry by the Roman
priesthood, because it is so sweeping and impartial ; for
in the view of that jiriesthood a Protestant liishnp or arch-
bishop is of no more account tlian a field jireacher. But
while most non-episcopal Protestants pass with a smile of
indifTerence — if not with a more jironounced look — the
exclusive claims of the Episcopacy, some take the matter
to heart, and arc grieved and irritated by those claims. If
the discussion that has been opened proceeds, it will be
necessary to define those claims more sharply. They
are covered liv the general statement, that Episcopacy
" has the only valid ministry." Now, valiil is a word
of vairue and duliious meaning in this connection. Those
who so use it nii^'ht hardly venture to substitute " the
only eflricnt ministry." Yet efficiency is the all-essen-
tial thing in the Christian ministry. That claim of sole
validity, which is not backed by any supcricuity of cliar-
acter, ability, moral or spiritual excellence, or success in
the sacred work, in the view of some who arc aggrieved
bv it, can hardly be relieved of the cliarge of assiimjition,
y)relcntiousness, and olTicial arrogance.

J!ut what is more to the point in the matti^r before us —
if the old controversy is to be o])ene(i for fn^sh discussion
— is the recounitioii of the fact, that while the. Noncon-
formists of the seventeenth century argued their cause

NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CHDRCH OF ENGLAND. 99

solely with the New Testament Scriptures in their hands,
their successors in this age need only to quote from the
writings of learned and candid Episco[ialians concessions
and affirmations that Episcopacy finds no basis in the
Scriptures ; was not known in tiie age of the Apostles, or
established by them ; is not essential to the institution or
administration of the Christian Church ; and came into
some portions of that Church in post-Apostolic times, on
indifferent reasons of convenience or assent.

A few more passages may lierc be quoted from tlie pages
of Dr. Jacob : —

" lu order to obtain a correct conception of the Christian min-
istry in its ]irimitive slate, it is necessary to distinguish clearly
between what the Apostles them>elves e.stabbslieil in the Churcti,
and what w;is afterward found to be expedient as a further di'Vel-
opment of their polity. That HJiicii may justl_\ claim to be a legit-
imate and beneheial extension of Apostobc order must not on
that account be confounded with ordmance-s of Apostolic institu-
tion. I have, therefore, tliouL;ht it necessary to omit all notice of
Episcopacy in considering the olTices of jireshytiTs and deacons.
These were established in the cliurches liy the A[iosth-s tliem-
selves, while the Episcopate, in tiie modern acceptation of tlie
term, and as a distinct clerical order, does not appear in tlie New
Test:imcnt, but was gradually introduced and estendeil throughout
the Church at a later period." '

The author shows how the Efiiscopal office came in as
a presidency or superintcndency, like that of a chairman,
when several presbyters, all on an equality, were in one
city or neighborhood. Sometimes there was a rotation in
the officc.

" The churches which like our own have retained the Episco-
pate and Episcopal ordination, may reasonably prefer this form of
government, and justly consider that it is one of all but Apostolic
antiquity, and one which having been found desirable, or even

' The Ecclesiastical Polity a( the Xew Testament, p. C7.

lUO THE rUlUTAN AGE.

necessary, after the departure of tlie A|iu.stles, and having been
well-tried hy long e.vperieiire, should iK'ver lightly he given u|i.
Hut, on the other liand, the governnierjt and thi- ordinations of
Presbyterian ciiurehes are just as valid, Serijitural, and Apostolie
as our own." '

'• Tlie authority of the C'iiristian minister in any place is given
to hiui hv tlic Church in which and for which he acts ; and this
authority is Apostolic, if his tearhing is sound in Ajiostolic truth ;
this autliority is from C/iri's/. if His (liurch is a legitimate Christian
community formed in obedience to Christ's command." ^

Certainly the best way to identify a river must be by the
water which fiows continuously through it from its source.

" The doctrine of the Apostolical succession is not the doctrine
of the Church of England, as the following proofs distinctly testify :

" A doctrine so important and fundamental, if it is believed to
be true, could not have been omitted as it is from our Articles and
Prayer Book, if it had been held by our Church; whereas it is
not only omitted, but the wording of Art. 2.' ij quite incompat-
ible with it.

"The Statute of F.Iizabctb, l.'iTO, — 'An Act for the Ministry
of the Church to be of sound Religion,' — only requires those who
liad received ordination in ' any otlier form of Institution, Con-
secration, or f)rdcring.' than that of the Church of England, to
subscribe to the ' Articles of Religion,' in order to hold ecclesias-
tical preferment in this country ; no objection at nil being raised
to the vali<iity of such ordinations."'

The anthov gives other grounds for his statement, among
them the allowance of Ilodker, " that there might be very
just and sulTicient reason tti allow ortlinatidu made without
a bislio])."

If more evidence were needed in illustration of the fact
tiiat the positions taken liy Puritan nonconformists on
the Scri[)turc model for the institution of a cliurch, now

' TliP Kcrlrsiiistind I'olity of tin- New Tcstanu'iit. p. 11.').
2 Il.ia., [1. 422. a ii,jj.^ pp. 422, 423.

NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CUURCIl OF ENGLAND. 101

find full support in the works of cliurchuicu, many other
volumes miglit be (juoted lierc. One of tliese ' is almost
radical in its tenor. The author states his object to be to
account for '■ tlic apparently wide differences between the
primitive and the modern forms of some Christian institu-
tions."' He endea\iirs to trace "the gradual steps Ijy which
the con^reirational system of early times j)asscd into tlie
diocesan system of later times." ^

While reason and occasion enoufrh were found in the
serious points already referred to to give significance to
the term " nonconformity " as a[(plied to the principles of
the English Puritans when claiming their riLfhts and privi-
leges in the reform and reconstruction of their own church,
it was in matters and details of lesser significance that
their name, not as Separatists, but as Noucouforiuists, re-
ceived its popular and familiar use.

It is difficult for us to realize the stupciidous change to
wliicli the wliiile pco|ile nf KuLrlami liad to be reconciled
and trained in the transition fiom the mode of worship
and instruction and religious discijiline under the Ifonian
observance to tln' I'rotcstant institution. The English lan-
guage was to take till- plui'c of tiie Latin in all the scr\icrs.
Public worship, in wliirli all the jieople could intelligently
take a part, was to be substituted for the altar service so
largely performed by the priest. The Lord's Sujiper, ac-
C(jrding to the account in the New Testament as a sacra-
ment to be perpetuated, — was it the re-enactment of a
sacrificial offering of a victim, or a fraternal service of
communion at a common talile fur a share in a commemo
rative observance?^

' The Growtli of Church Institutions. By the Rev. Eiliviu Hutch, M..\.,
D.D., Reader in Ecclesiastical History in the L'nivei-sity of U.vford. 1887.

2 Ihi.I., p. 7.

^ When one whn^e training has been under the simffle services of the Pnri-
tinisni of our modern days sees for the first time the service of the Mass, —
with wliat is to him a dninli show, with the attitudes, the bowings, ami
genuflections of the priest, as he consecrates and lifts the wafer for adoration, —

102 THE ruuiTAN age.

Tlic pcdpli' wcrr fo liuvL' a iiiaiuial f(jr worship and the
liililf in thiir own l^iirlisli toii^nie. Perfection and satis-
faclii)ii could not be reached at once, but re(iuired tentative
staLTcs, ojieniny: many subjects for inteliifri-nt differences in
niatti'rs (j1 opinion and conscien('e. 'I'hi.' first jiraver-ljook,
the eiintents of wliich wcic jratiiered and translated b_v a
coni|ian\' of divines from |)iH'vious servici'-books, was [jub-
lisiicd undrr Ivlwaid \'l. in l.'Ii4'J, and a siTond one with
ihanires appeared in the same reiiru. ft was ajrain altered
in lo;JM, in IGO;!, and Itjflf. 'I'lie last prayer-book differs
from the first |)rincipally in tlir omission of the name of
the XiruMn Mary in tiie prayers oflei'ed to saints ; of prayers
for the dead ; of the niixin;^ of wine and water in the cup;
and of all the elaborate ceremonies in baptism excejit the
crossing: of the forehead. Queen Mary suspended all the
i'eformin;z acts previous to her rei;_''n, so that they had to
lie renewed under Elizabeth. The psalter had been pul>-
lished in f>atin ;ind Enp;lish, and the JiJilile " lessons" had
been reaiJ in l->n,Lrlish in lo4<l. In 1.J44 Ci'anmer trans-
lated the f^itany into En;ilish. 'i'lie En;_dish Bible called
by his name was the first used in the churches till the
J5ishi>ps' flilile was substituted in ltl<i4.

The ra[iacity of courtiers and nobles to share and appro-
jiriate tlie s[ioils of the " reliirious houses," their wealth in
treasures and lands, when they were suii[iressed by Henry
\'I11., bad a most disastrous effect uiion tlie moralities of
the ("liiiich. These spoils fed the jiride, the rivalry, and
the worldliness of those wlio were enriched by them, and

1m' niiiv )«■ inuvi-.i 111 risk liiiiisilf if, by iiiiv itrmt of tin' iiii,if;in.ilion, lu- can
colli I'ivi' of an nimstli' lis ^;nni^ Ihnnixli lliiit uIisitviiiict Ix'fop' tlu' rarly
iiisri|.lcs ' Sniiii' rriiiliTs miiy li.ivi' bliurt-il llu' wniuliT of tin" writer on wit-
iicssiiil,' tlif olisirviiii.i' of till' MusM ill tlu> Churcli of St, IVtir iit lioini', with
nil 111.' {Hiiiip iHiil KoiR'Ousiii's-s of till' scenic slinw. Tlic tliought tli.it rosi>
to liis iiiiiiil w.'iM wlirllirr, if the cloiiHi of the .Mipcrli tinipli' coiild have
l.i'iTi roiii mill I 111- A|«ivtli' to wlioiii it is ilciliciitwl couM hnvc lirsciMuk'il into

il, 111- Wolll.l llllVi- IHIlll■r^loo,l wllllt WILS KoillR Oil tlllTC. It WOuld huVC W'U

iiilfri'Stiii^ tu li.i\'c lii'urvi his successor ruiUiiii the situation to biiu.

NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 1013

plundered the common people of manv resources and ix\>-
pliances which the piety of earlier ages had consecrated
to their use.

The ne.\t great and vital question to engage the zeal
of the Puritans, ;is they rightfully claimed to exercise it
in the reconstruction of a reformed church, was the in-
ternal constitution and administration of the Church itself.
Their own principles and views on this subject will come
before us subsequently when we have to follow the course
pursued by that representation of the Puritan body which
instituted in the Massachusetts colony the " particular
Church," so designated by Governor Winthrop. It is
sufticient to anticipate here, by saying, that while every
baptized person in the realm was held to be a member of
the Church of England, the Puritans maintained that a
Church must consist only of " Actual Believers, True Dis-
ciples, such as can gi\e some account how the (Jrace of
God hath appeared unto, and wrought that heavenly change
in them."

The I'uritans gladly recognized the advance made by
radically reforming ])rineiples in substituting a service of
prayer in English and intelligent worship and instruction,
for what in their view were " the mumblings and liowings
of the priest, with his back to the people, in his own idola-
trous mimuneries." l]ut an attachment and reverence for
all entailed and endeared usages and observances, curiously
mingled with su]>erstitions, charms, and legends, had a
strong hold ujjon the minds and hearts of the common
peo[ile. It was in rude and unsympathizing dealings with
these, — till.' observance of saints' days, praying with the
rosary, the use of the cross as a talisman, tlic repetition
for scores of times of the Pater Noster and the Ave,
and many other lingerings of the traditionary jiiety, — that
the Puritans drew uj)on themselves odium as over-scrupu-
lous precisians, and radicals. For example, the Puritans
" scrupled the Cross in Baptism." They did so, and they

104 Till-: PURITAN AGE.

jravc reasons for their .s«riiplrs. Anioii^ all the parties
ami sects of ("hrisliaus there were none to whom the
Cross of Clirist liad a more aii^rust or holy si^'nilieance than
to the I'uritaiis ; jjut it was as a reality, and not as a syrn-
liol, that they pri/.c^l it. Thi'\ In licved that iu the Roman
obsersance Ihe cross hail hcen turned to idolatrous, unintel-
lifient, and merely fcninal uses, as a charm or phylactery.
They "scrupled" its tii\ial anij mechanical desecration.
The ritual for the hajitism of an iiilant by a priest of the
Roman Cliureh was then — and is now, unchantred — very
elaborate in its method, desig'ned to sifrnify the transcendent
imijortance and ellicaey assigned to it. Godfathers and god-
mothers to assume or share the res|)onsiliilities of parents
wore to be fircsent. The jiriest blows thrice on the face
of the child, biddimz; the (.lc\il iu it "to pive place to the
Hilly dhijst." Then he makes the siirn of the cross on
the fiirehead and breast, with words of exhortation. Then,
after [irayer, the ]iriest blesses some salt and puts a prain
iif it intii the mouth of the child, with nmre exhortation,
and exoi'cism of the Evil Spirit, and i-epetitiun of the
cross. The service so far was in the porch of the church ;
llien cnminp inti.i the church, the priest with spittle from
bis mouth touches the ears and the nostrils of the infant,
with further exhortation and exorcism. Then with holy
oil he anoints the infant on the breast and between the
slmiililers. and while the pod-pai'ents are holding or toueh-
inp him, Ihe priest names the child, and thrice ]ioui's water
on or ili|is it, rcpeatinp the forunda. There is another
anointiiip with oil and balm, or "hol\- chrism;"" a linen
cloth is put upon the he;iil of the child, a liphted candle
is put into its hand, and there is a eonchidinp e.xlior-
tatiiin. I'yVery aid and element of th(> service is symbolic,,
with cxplanatorv eiimment. Those who prepared the
Knplish l'r;i\er Hook " scrupled "" and omitted e\c'rv part
of tins iitiial excejit the use of Ihe cross. T\\c Puritans-
carried their scruples one step further, and " scru|)Icd "'

NONCONKOUMISTS AND THE CUURCII OF ENGLAND. 105

tlie cross. They asked, " Wliy omit all the rest and re-
tain tins ? "

The position taken by the Puritans as to the sign of the
cross — because of its snperstitiou.s use — may well be
regarded as suggesting their general and comprehensive
objections to all mere " eereniouials." They wished to
displace them by plain, intelli.Lnblc, direct instruction that
should be enlirrhtcninir and edifying, engaging the thoughts
and reaching the consciences of the ]icople. Our concern
in these pages is with tliat class of the Puritans, the
founders of Massachusetts, who themselves dclined their
relation to the Knglisli Church as one not of open iKjstiU
ity, antagonism, or sejiaration, but of nonconformity. Ac-
knowledging their birthright and heritage in it as the
source of their Christian nurture, they mouiurd over tin'
ciirruptions, su|ierstitions, and enshnrnii'ut to which it
had lieen subjected under the Pafial dnmiuancy, anil they
wished to rid it of everything forci'jrn and iiicmisistent in
its institutiiin and diseiplini'. They ciiun' tn Imik npdii thi'
usages and ceremonii's nf thi rinnili whicb Uicy rrncjuniM'd
as precisely answering to IhuM' " traditmns of thr cldiM's"
for which Jesus rebuked the Jews, as nullifyiuL'' "r ilcpre-
ciating the positive ccunmandments of (iod. And at this
point we must broadly distinguish i)ctween this class of
Nonconformists and the Sectaries of tiie jieriod, with
whom thev are often stranufely ci>nfoundeiJ. In the fer-
ment and distractiou, chielly among the ranks of the CDni-
nion people, the illiterate, husiiandmen and artisans, which
followed upon the general enfranchisement <if thciught, and
the free use of the .Scriptures, individualism in opinion and
belief ran to the wildest extremes. Enthusiasm and fanati-
cism, with every form of eccentricity and extravagance,
came in tn unsettle order and breed confusion. The dingy
ol(J volumes, now gathered in the proi)er rece]itacles for
them, remain to us as exfionents, attempted classifications,
or definitions and descrijjtions of all the strange fancies,

lOG TIIK I'lJlUTAN AGE.

ciiucrits, (Irviccs, lierc'sics, ami deluHiuiis, any one of which
sulllrrcl us law luatcrial f(jr a sect, a coni_Te(ratiijn, or even
a " cliurcli." Many ^)i these freely avowed an open hos-
tility to civil ;j'(i\ernnient, nia;.nstracy, ami the laws of
niiHaliU' and enniaion decency. " Antinoinians," " Fami-
IinIs," " Lihertims," ami " Adamites " are tlie embers left
in iMi^j'lish speech, fur which one has to seek the defini-
tiuns in old tractates, Init which, when in living: use, were
liraiiils threateiiinii; fearful confla).'rations. The stock basis
of Jiililc sanction for one of these sects, the " Adamites,"
is thus stated : " Their joint issue is, that clothes were
aiipointed not so nmch to cover shame, as to discover sin ;
and that therefore, they bcinir such as Adam was in his
innocency, ouLtht to iioe naked, and not to be ashamed." ^

It wtiuid be unprolltable to concern ourselves further
with the e.\tra\a)j:anccs of individualism and sectarism in
this perioil of distraction in England. Reference to it
has bren in jilace here, solely to disting'uish every form
and nianifi'station of this s|iiiit from the nonconformity of
the founders of Massachusetts. The relations to be given
further on in these jiafres of the way in which every excess
of indi\ iijualism and sectarism was dealt with by court
and magistracy, will themselves snUice to show the breadth
of that distinction. Sir Ferdinando (lorgcs, thoroughly
familiar as he was with the character and purposes of
those founders, and their keeidy watchful enemy at the
Court, thus fairly delines their motive in tlieir exile. He
says that the I'nritans had become discoui'aged as to any
liirther ])ressure of refiuin in the Church, and therefore
that " some of the discreeter sort, to avoid wiiat they found
tliemselves subject unto, made use of their fritMids to pro-
cure fi-om the Council foi- the all'airs of New Kngland to
settle a Colony within their limits."

Alter .lobn Cotton had been the \'iear of St. Botolph
nearly a scoi'e of years, he came under the hand of Laud

1 Tlii' Dipiwrs Iiipl, vU\ Wy I'r. \hww\ Ko;ali'y. l.uiidou, ICOl, !>. 30.

NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 107

for nonconformity. He was informed again.st at the High
Commission for '• refusing to kneel at the Lord's Supper." '
Cotton says : " Wlien tlie Bishop of Lincoln Diocese [Dr.
Mountaigne] offered me liberty upon once kneeling at the
Sacrament with him the next Lord's Day after, I durst not
accept his otfer of liberty upon once kneeling." - Cotton
'• scrupled kneeling " as a remnant of the " idolatrous sac-
rifice of the Mass." Tiie P^arl of Dorset, his warm friend,
interceded in vain in his behalf, assuring him " that if he
had been guilty of drunkenness, uncleanness, or any such
lesser fault, he could have obtained his [lardon ; but as lie
was guilty of Puritanism and nonconformity the crime was
unpardonable, and therefore he advised him to tiee for his
safety."

The hundred scholars and divines who, from the train-
ing of the English universities, and many of them from
incumbency of jjarishes and service in the pulpits of the
English Church, came to New England in its [irst age to
lay the foundations here, were the peers in every respect
of their conformist fellows whom they left bcliind. Their
nonconfi)rmity in matters of discipline and ritual had
drawn ujion them the processes of the bishi>[)s and tlu-ir
sjjiritual courts. Bands of earnest laymen, who had en-
joyed and valued their ministry, jireceded, accompanied, or
welcomed them here. The model for church institution,
wliich they established, when free in tlic wilderness to ful-
low their own conscienct's and preferences, exhibits in its
divergences tlie character and (piality of their noncon-
formity. The laymen imprnvcd tlieir opportunity t(i select
and institute their own religious teaeiiers, which they had
had no power of doing under the [larochial system of Eng-
land. They could constitute their chui'ches of "covenanted
believers." Instead of the " dumb reading" of the Scrip-
tures by appointed lessons, they could accompany the read-

1 Ncal, ruritaiis, i. 317.

^ Way of Congregatioual CliurcLes, p. 19.

108 THE PURITAN AGI:.

iiii,' witli cxiK.isil ion. Tlii'v f'Diild o))H(T\'C tlic KaciamentH
aiTonJiiiL,'' til \\li;it llicy lirlicvnj tn ln' tlieir orii/irial [lur-
]iiisc' ami iiii'lliod. 'I'liry were fire in aWrrm'^ prayer, and
nol IhiiiihI Id a scr\ irc-liddk. All the cliaiiircs and inodi-
iiralidiis niudc in tlir IJudk ol ('dninidn l'ra\er liad not,
n'l'uni'ilnl Die rui'ilans to its nsc Jt fi'ltcri-d tlieir sjiirits
and tlii'ii' tdiiLrui's. It was \i> tin in fornial and incclianical
in its (d'Icct, roiilinr, and riifidity.' I'.xpf'ricnce ever since,
hdwrvtT. lias |ii'd\c(| that it is rather li\ tasli; and tenipera-
incnt than by eunseirncc, that individuals gathered for
puhlie Wdisliip prefer fi'cedoni or fdrniality in its exei'cise.
It a]i]ifars that at this tinir in i--iiL''land, ulirre ncithrr re-
straint nor oliligation interjioses, of thosi' who liabitually
cnLTiLTe in puhlic worsliip, nearly an erpial number accept
and disuse the ("liurcli forms. ('al\in. the (liicf religious
frniile fur the I'ui'itans, crave tliree i-easons for set prayers,
which nii^dit June liad weiirlit witli them, but did not:
(1 'I'd pi'ovide for the weakness of some ministers; ; 2^ For
ijfeniTal eons nt and agreement in clnirehes ; .3) To cross
till' liliert\ df some ministers whd affect novelties.

rndei- the I'ule df the T{onian Ciiurcli there had lieen an
inL'enidnslv- devised sidieme to ]iernicate secular life with
a course of reliLndUS observances additional to those of
the weikh ."^abliath. A calendar of the year was jirepared
(lesiLniatinLT events and methods in Christian history and
traiiiiu'j. dust and beautiful in conceptinn ami jnirpose,
this svstem became burdensome, perverted, and overladen.

' Till' nlijc-riiiiiis iif till' Nllnc■llllfll^lli^ts to tlu' runiiiiuu Trayi'i- Book, and
siiiiK' nf th'- 1 iniiiiiiiii-.'. lit till' (liiinli, iin- stiitiil fciriiMy, but tenifHTati'ly,
iirid with (li[;iiili(ii ri'stiaint of lniip:iin^'.', in tin- I'n'lai'i' tu tlu> Dirprtory for
\Viiislii|i, |in |Kirc'd by tin' \Vu5tniin.>.ti r AsMMnbly. As bi. U of sympathy so
riiiilily iHTcinii's nnti|Killiy, tlccsc nbjoi'tions soon p,'is.siMl into :i1m nations and
sli pii^! ilinlikps iiftin ixiMi'^ii'il witli bitti-rin'ss. .Sonir of tin- I'lnitan party
hiill ;il|r imIui;.; tbr paii-b rhunli.-s wcri' «ont to stay out.snli' iliirinf: tin' prt'-
liiniiiarv scrviii's, anil Ibiii n<> m to listi'ii to tin' .'.iTnion. Kvory n-fi-R'nci' to
a HiTviir ol |ii.i\ri HI tin- Niw 'rrsiainriit sii^;;i'strd to tlti-in a frt'r ontpoiirin^
of Hiiiiiiiiiiil uml ultiTaiR-f. Tlii'y coulJ not concclvf of u Imok King used
on sni li in rasioiis.

NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. . 109

Festivals and fasts, saints' days, revels, games, fairs, pil-
grimages, holy ]>laces, cxoi-cisms, and puerile and debasing
legends and superstitions were inextricably mixed in this
system, with results and influences both good and bad.
The English Church thouglit it wise to retain some of the
usages which had conic into it from Rome, fur the same
reason that the Roman Church retained some of the sanc-
tities of Paganism, because of fond attachments and asso-
ciations holding the common pco])le. But the Puritans,
witli an indiscriminating aversion and contempt, cast aside
all the sweet and grateful sentiments and associations
wrought in with the lieart tendrils of affection in these
Church observances in secular things.

In this connection reference should he made to one of
the least attractive traits or principles of the Puritans as
shown afterward in their intense aversion to the observ-
ance of holy days, whicli were in fact holidays, including
Christmas, and which lunmpted them to pass an intiudict
upon them in their legislation here. Rut it was by no
means only tlie Nonconformists wlio com|ilaincd of and
souglit to reduce the elaborate system of semi-sacred ol)-
servances which crowded the calendar of the year, and
seriously interfered with the perfcu-mance of the regular
duties and labors of life in the iiome, the field, and the
worksho[i. The ailministrators of the Church round their
discretion and efforts severely taxed in dealing with the
popular habits of idleness and dissi[)ation encouraged by
this usage of holy days. Archbishop Cranmer, in a letter
to Cromwell, conifilains of "having found the piMjplr (A uiy
diocese very obstinately given to observe and keep with
solemnity the liolidays lattdy abrogated, and that the jieoplc
were partly animated thereto by the curates." ^ Relore
tlic Reformation Cromwell had drafted for the Commons
a complaint to the King of the harmful interference witii
trade and agriculture caused by the use of holy days as

' No. 198, of "Letters of Craniiicr," collected by Kuv. Ileiiry Jenkyns.

no THE PURITAN AflE.

Imlitlays. "I'lic coinfilniiit rfcitcs that "A great number of
Imly (lays now iit this [jri'seiit timi', with very small (]evf>-
tiuii, lie solrmnizcij and kept thrcjiiglnjiit tiiis your realm,
ii|Min iIk' vvhicli many jrrcat, alinniiiiaijle. and execrable
\ ifcs, idle and wantmi K|i()rls, lie used anil exercised, —
which holy days mi;.''lit br made fewer in number.'"' As
a rrsult of this C()mi)laint, Convocation on Julv lo, looG,
'■by the Kinsr's Highness' authority as supreme fiead on
earth of the Churcli of England," drclared that the number
(if these holy days was —

'■ Tlie occasion of much sloth and idleness, the very nourish of
thiivts, vagabonds, and divers oilier untliriftiness and inconven-
iiTices and loss of man's food, many times bein^' clean destroyed
tliroui,di the su[ierstitious observance of the said holy davs. in not
taking the opportunity of good and serene weather in time of
liarvest ; hut also pernicious to the souls of many men, which
being enticed bv the licentious vacation and liherty of those holi-
days, do upon the same commonly use and practise more excess,
riot, ami sujierlhiitv than upon anv other davs."'-*

The Nonconformists, with the thoroughness ■nhicli they
demandi'il in the woi'k of ]i\iririeation. rei|uired that all
these trivial, superstitious de\ices of the Roman domina-
tion slnuild be discre(]it('d and disused, aiuj that the Sali-
bath ahiiie should bo held to be a holy-day, and reverently
observed as such. The delusions, frauds, and sujicrstitions
connected with these holy days outweighed in their minds
an\' possible service they could have foi' edification. It was
the repudiation or discountenance by the Puritans of all
these lighter, gentler agencies and intluences for fostering
religion in churidi and liome, on the village green and in
popular festivals, that drov(» them into a grimness and aus-
terity wholly unnecessary to the vitality of their own faith,
and repulsive to all genial persons. We may look in this

' Fn.u.li'.K llislnry "f Knplniid, i. 208.

^ 3U']ilion'3 EcclubiKstical Statutes, \<. 333 ; Str_v|)c'9 Craiinicr, i. l'Z2.

NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. Ill

direction to find an explanation of a fact wliicli presses
itself upon the notice of every one versed in the details of
New EiiLrland history durinj^ its Puritan age, and the con-
temporary history of the Puritans wiio remained in Eng-
land. The influences of their exile, with deprivations and
hardships, and their freedom to follow out to extremes
their own proclivities, prejudices, and fancies, tended to an
exaggeration of tlie natural austerity of Puiitanism here,
while it was held in restraint among Puritans at home.
The ivy-clad churches and towers, the chime of bells, the
sports on the green, the village festivals, the bridal revel-
ries, and the holiday delights, all entering into the iieri-
tage of "merry England," were not without their softening
and amiable working ujton the sentiments even of those
least in sym]>athy with tliem because of their Puritan
spirit.

But the exiles here parted with all these mute or jilead-
ing influences wiiich soften and enrich the heart and cheer
the routine of toil and lirigliten tln^ family home. The
first generation born from the Puritans on this soil were
of stifTer and sterner fibre than their jiarents, and such of
thi'm as found tlieir way tn the old lnime always became
mellowed, even if tlieir fellowslii|i there was confined (o
the dissenting liouseholds. The Puritans remaining in
England, still under liie influence of traditional iieliefs and
ecclesiastical observances, were les.s repelling in their aus-
terity than their brethren who iiad gone into the wilderness.
The former still maintained neighborly and companionable
intercourse with many who were not in sympathy with
tlieir own ways. The exiles were isolated from all liberal-
izing and expanding influences, and restricted to a fellow-
ship— and that a very close one — whose necessity it was
to be all of one mind, in full accord as to purposes and
methods. They were compelled to discover by their own
experience that this was impracticable. The highest rule
of guidance which they recognized was that of the indi-

1 1:2 THE PURITAN AGE.

vidual conscience " enlit'liteneii by the Word." But tliis
enlightened con.science \v;is not a coininou hiininary. In-
dividuals most tenacious of their own consciences were
most Ln-udLHUL'' of (lie I'onsciences of othei's.

One is almost dispnsed In ihiiik that "consciences" first
came into recojrnition and use under (hose times and cir-
cumstances. Consciences thenceforward claim a fiart and
inlluenec in affairs of trutli and duty, and in collisions of
authiii-ity and contro\'ersy such as had not before enlisted
them. Certainly the rauL'e and province of conscience
were widened, and its activity and tenderness were inten-
sified. Very many matters not before wonted to engage,
much less to disturb it, came under its cognizance. The
claim of " lilterty of conscience " came in with tiie Reforma-
tion. Tiie world had not heard of it before in the relations
in which it was now asserted. Under the old church dis-
cifiline thi' office of conscience in some of its sternest and
some of its most delicate exercises was assumed by the
s[)iritual dii'ector. Often did he create, or reconstruct, or
adapt a conscience for matters not witliin the province of
tlie natural conscience. He could generally prescribe sat-
isfactorily what was to be believed and what was to be done.
The Protestant was put into a largely changed position and
relation to his conscience, which was set under a di\ inc
direction, — silent, not communicated liy speech, e.xcept
through Scriptural help, but left to thought and serious
interpretation.

The conscience of a man like Rogci- 'Willinms. and that
of a woman like Mary Dyer, were oi'igiual and rich in tiieir
processes. There had jireviously been many consciences
as profoundly earnest, as liigiilv illuminated. P.ut theirs
were engaged on new materials, cNei'cised upon new sub-
jects, and maile keen and aggressive iiy sharp activity in
their collisions with other sorts of consciences. Yet tliere
must have been in Pui-itnuism a spirit other and bett(M- than
tli.at of a peevish, perverse scrupulosity, whicl\ alienated

NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CHURCH OF ENULAND. 113

from the Church as their heritage by birth and love the
hundred scholars and divines from Oxford and Cambridge,
and brought them with their flocks into these rude wil-
derness settlements to do patiently their severe life-work.
Had the prompting come from mere contrariety of mind
or temper, it would have driven them into eccentric indi-
vidualities, with no accord in one earnest, consenting acccjv
tance of doctrine, duty, institution, and discipline. That
the distinctive principles for wliich the Nonconformists
stood when the question of reform and reconstruction of
the system of the Church — clearing it of many abomina-
tions— was first fully 0]>cned, were not proni]iti'd by ca-
price, by unworthy personal aims, or by any narrowness of
spirit, lias been abundantly assured by the persistency with
which Puritan principles iiave been maintained in England
from that time to this. They liave not only survived, but
have aggressively and yet peacefully continued their origi-
nal protests and their consistent rel'nnuing wurk. What
we in this land owe ti> the mastery secured by Puritan
principles from their first full assertion, recognition, and
prevalence licre, needs no rcbiaisal on these pages. These
principles, as relating to religion, indijicndently of [loli-
tics, — save as tbey necessarily involved a radical inthiencc
in political affairs, — were tlius set forth by the Puritans:
The sole authority and the sufficiency of the Scriptures;
the parity of Christian ministers ; tiie independency of the
cliurches in their institution and discipline; the right of
the laity to choose their own rt'ligious teachers, and free-
dom in worship and ritual. Enough lias been said upon
the resolute and consistent persistency of the Puritans in
refusing to be led outside of the Scriptures into tin- slough
of tradition and patristic divinity. The parity of tlie min-
istry, with all the inferences and consequences following
from it, was the most startling and revolutionary of all the
principles of Puritanism, as it leaped back through all the
towering assumptions and corruptions of tlie hierarchical

8

114 THE PURITAN AGE.

centuries to tlic simyilicity ami c(|uality of the first Chris-
tian brotherliood. Wiiatever of undue or harmful influence
we may see occasion in the f(jiiii\viiij^ jiat^es for ascriljing
to tli(^ " elders " ill llie severity of the administration of
the Massachusetts theocracy, we may riirhtfuliy claim for
thi' I'uritans the supreme achievement of prostrating, and
lor all time disabling, all that is fairly objectionable in what
is Conveyed by the phi'asu, " the power of the clergy," —
the assumiition and exercise by them of a ghostly, sacer-
dotal sway. Till within recent years one mi'jht read in
the oliservations and criticisms of foreign visitors to this
country remarks to the efTcct that under our voluntary
system of religion, with no patronage from the State, there
was no encouragement for devoting one's self to the clerical
profession, as it offered no field for jiromotion, advancement,
or ambition. That this is so, our tribute of award, of grati-
tude, and praise, in terms not easy of exaggeration, is due
to our Puritan founders. What is there, or ought there
to !)(■, in the Christian ministry to j)rovidc a field for ambi-
tion, its favors, lures, and rewards ? There may have been
since the liist Puritan age something more of decent re-
gards for consistency and projiriety in the conditions for
advancement in the Church of England in the places for
clerical anitiition, and in the prizes of titles and honors.
Put no imfirovement in methods would have reconciled the
Puritans to a system which under a reformation should have
[ireservcd even a semljlance of the old Pa{)al hierarchy,
which tasked the powers of language to express the grada-
tion of (liLrnities in priestly ofiices. " Ilis Holiness," " His
(;race,""His Kminence," " Very Reverend," " Most Uev-
ereiid," " Right Rev(M-eii(l," and the othi r variations for
expressing successivi' superlatives of honor and dignitv
were as chaff to the Puritan, to whom the nol)lest of titles
was that of " .Minister of (loiTs Word." Nor should wc
forget that as tlie direct result of this voluntarv rejec-
tion \i\ the Puritans of all these sacerdotal and hierarchical

NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 115

pretensions, laymen for the first time reclaimed their full
equality in all the ritrhts, functions, and methods of institu-
tion and discipline connected with reli;j;ion. And it is of
the gravest imjiort that our country — for at least this first
century of its life — has heen saved from all comjilications
of its policy through ecclesiastical, hierarchical, and sacer-
dotal prerogatives, such as liave contemporaneously dis-
tracted the administration of secular afTairs in France,
Belgium, Italy, (Germany, and Austria. There is, indeed,
a large variety of ecclesiastical titles strewn over our coun-
try among sectarian dignitaries, from cardinals downward.
But as these have no baronial, temporal jurisdiction, no
[irivileges or immunities above the humblest citizen, the
titles interest only those who bear or confer them, and are
as harmless as the grandiloquent epithets of Free Masonry,
Odd Fellowship, and of the knights, encampments, and
commanderies. Occasionally we may see sonic trivial and
ludicrous affectation in hcie and there a Bishop nf thr
Protestant Episcopal fold in our States, after the enjoyment
of the ]ialatial hospitality of an English j)relate, on return-
ing home, using in his signature the name of the State in
which is his diocese, or donniirj the Episco]ial npnin, the
kner-gaiters, and the shovel hat. These arc likely to sug-
gest to the spectator a craving in the dignitary for other
prerogatives unattainable here. TIh' mere |irofession and
office of a minister of religion are sure to draw to him
from the average class (jf sober-minded persons as much of
regard and influence as it is well for him to have, simply
on the ground — assumed or conceded — that his converse
is with interests alxjve and beyond the seeularities of
life. The spirit of Puritanism distrusts and rebukes all
sacerdotalism, and is even impatient of nuich clerical-
ism. To the Puritans Christendom is indebted for hrst
giving bold and practical reassertion to the grand jiroela-
mation of an apostle, that every Christian is his own
" king and priest unto God," capable of discharging for

IIG THE rURlTAN AGE.

liiiiisclf tln' two liijrln'st ofliccs of the secular and the
relifrioiis hfr.

Tlic MussachuHctts exiles, after a thirty yeai's' trial of
tluir own cliurcli iii8tituti(jii, had learned to state with
s(jnie ]iieci.siou the Kuhstaiicr and extent of their noncon-
formity with their mother < "liureh. Tlie (ieneral t'cjurt in
Decemlier, ItiGO, in an addres.s to Klufx Charles 11., depre-
eatinp his possible interferenci; with their leligious liijerties,
wrote thus : —

"Wee I'duM nut live witlioiit the publieke worslM[) of Goil.
Wee were not jierniitlt'd tin- use of publieke worsbip without such
a yoakf of suliseription and conformity as wee could not consent
unto widiout sinne. Tliut wee niij.'l]t therefore enjoy divine wor-
ship without the humane mixtures, without offence either to God,
man, or our owne conseieuces, wee, with leave, but not without
teares, departed from our country, kiudred, and fathers' houses,
into this Pathmos. Ourselves, who came away in our strength,
are, bv reason of very Ion;; absence, many of us become grey-
headed, and some of us stoojiing, for age. The omission of the pre-
mentioned injunctions, together witli tiie walking of our churches,
as to the [loint of ordi-r, tlie ciiiign-gationall way, is all wherein
wee dilTer from our Orthodox brethren." '

This frank avowal of the degree of dissent or variance,
and of the still surviving bond of arcoid in their relations
to the mother Church, may stand as the explanation for
whicli we are seeking, to reconcile an avt)wed attachment
and gratitude to it, causing " tcarcs " when they left their
home, with the scttinir up of a "way" of their own. The
explanation will pass fur much or little, accordinir to the
view which ma\' In' taken as ti> what cnustitiited the stdi-
stanee and identity of the English Chiireh I»id this con-
sist in the Church being the vidiiclc <ir channel for tlie
transmission of the faith, with the Scriptures and ordi-
nances, the instituliciu (d woishi|i and Christian instruc-

' Kciords, vul. iv. pi. i. |>. iyi.

NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 117

tion, — or in its remnant of hierarchical government, its
forms, and ritual ? The Puritan believed that if the Church
could preserve its identity and its divine character and
ofhcc after being cleared of so many of the inventions and
corruptions introduced into it under the Roman dominancy,
it would be all the more a true Church if reconstructed
after the primitive pattern. The passage of an ocean of
space, with their savage surroundings, had not severed the
dear ties of kinshi]) with the English stock, nor could their
preference of the congregational to the prelatical wav de-
]irive them of their church heritage. In this, as in so
many other points of interest, we may safely study the
course and example of Winthro]i. lie never in terms re-
nounced communion with the Church of England, Itut at
once adopted and was fully contmt with "the congrega-
tionall way."

As Puritanism, under its type of nonconformity, steadily
developed its radical tendency, involving a comjilcte revolu-
tion and reconstruction in the EuLrlish Church, opposition
to its whole spirit and work liecanie naturally more decided
and resolute. It could not have liecn otherwise. The very
stones would have cried out against the substitution of a
fully develo]ied Puritanism, for that partial comjiromise
with the old Church system, which the statesmanship and
the ecclesiastical polity of the realm decided could alone
be practicable and wise. The grand and solemn cathedrals,
so majestic in their compass, so rich in their symbolism,
with an altar for every Christian grace and virtue, with
aisles once swept by gorgeous processions, with their shrines
of saints and every emblem of sanctity within, and grin-
ning devils and monsters put to service outside on the
buttresses and water-gutters, — these proud temples of
the " ages of faith " would have protested against being
turned iijto Puritan meeting-houses. Little suited or ser-
viceable as they are for the reduced solemnities of the
English ritual, as they were designed for more elaborate

118 TIIK PURITAN AGE.

uses, tlip KstaliliHlicd Church has with difficulty availed
itself of their eiiiptv and denuded walls; but a Puritan as-
seniblaf^e jrathered in them, as 0[ien for (inly one day in a
wceiv, with extenijiore jirayer, voeal jisahuody without oi'pan
accom[ianinient, and Ird by the iiitcii-iiipc, and long dis-
coursings measured by the houi-ghiss, would liave been an in-
congruous sjicctacle. The worshipiier in some of the larger
ancient church edifices of Holland and Scotland has noticed,
not however with satisfaction to eye or thought, how parti-
tions dividing choir, nave, and transept afTord accommoda-
tions to several companies of worshippers. This is better,
however, than the yielding u[i of one jiortion of such an
edifice to the uses of a lumtier-room. Tlie clergy of the
English Church have a jilaintive reminder in their grand
minsters of what they had to leave behind them wlien
they parted with the " idolatries " of Rome. The ridicule
and contempt which liavc been la\ished upon the early
Puritan meeting-houses of Massachusetts have overshot the
niarli. Thi' assumption has been that the bareness, grim-
ness, anil ugliness of these structures indicated the taste
and firefcrences of those who built them. It was not so.
Thev did the liest they could in their straits of necessity,
their lack of seemly materials, and dependence upon village
architects .nnd carpenters. Each renewal and substitution
of such edifices marked a steady improvement in the fit-
ness of things.

It was certainly with no view to laxity or ease or deliv-
erance from religious restraint and discipline that the re-
sponsible lenders of the exile to New England instituted
hv jireference their own way of " church estate." With an
intense dread of the extravagant and fanatical sectaries
of that age, the Puritans were most exacting and orderly
in settling their cluinh institutions, far exciHMiing in cau-
tion and discipline the methods of the English Churcli.
They demanded the highest standard of character, of abil-
ities, and of learning in their ministers. Their requisites

NONCONFORMISTS AND TOE CHURCH OK ENCLAND. 119

for cliureh membersliip nnd communion were such as only
absolute hypocris}' could tritle with. Acccptiniz; only the
Scriptures as authoritative for them, we shall have occasion
to note how absolute and implicit was their allegiance to
the Bible.

Yet it must be frankly admitted, as already intimated,
tliat the influences of exile, and of being left free to work
out their own tendencies and preferences, soon completely
alienated them from their mother Church ; " the Lord
J]isliops '" became the ogres of their visions. The Common
Prayer was defamed as a " stinted and formal "' service, re-
jircssivc of devotion. Saints' days, inclusive of Cliristmas,
became profane and idolatrous observances. The charter
of the Bay Comjiany assigns llie times for holding courts,
as "every last Wednesday in Hillary, Ea.ster, Trinity, and
Michaelmas Termes." But those ecclesiastical datings never
■appear on the court records, and Puritan children born
here would have been wholly nnal)le to dcline them, and
probably never heard them Sfioken. Very significant is the
quaint entry in the Journal of Judge Sewall : "The Gov-
ernor committed Mr. Ilolyoke's Almanac to mo. I blotted
against Feb. 14, Valentine : March 2.5, Annunciation of the
B. Viri/in ; April 24. Easter ; Sept. 21', iHichaelmasx ; Dec.
25, Chrintmax, and no more. (A'. C. Mart.) was lined out
before I saw it. I touched it not." '

There is a remarkable entry in Governor Wiiitiirop's Jour-
nal which may be cited as showing the difference of opinion
entertained here in 1G37 about J^jiscopal ordination : —

"April Ti, 1637. The cliureh of Concord kept a day of humili-
ation at Newtown for ordination of tlieir ciders, and they chose Mr.
Buckly teacher, and Mr. Jones pastor. Upon a question, moved by
one sent from the cluirch of Salem, it was resolved by the ministers
there present that such as had been ministers in England were law-
ful ministers by the call of the people there, notwithstanding their

' SewaU Papers, vol. ii. p. 230.

120 THE PURITAN A(!K.

ai-cf'|it;uii'c of I III' call (if tlic liisliops (for wliich tlicy humbled
themselves, uckiiowlcd^'iiii; it their si[i), liut being come hither
they accounted themselveK no niinifiters until they were called to
another cliureh, anil that, upon election, they were ministers before
tluy were tioleninly ordained." '

And 8() tlio breach widciieij till, (lirou^di (lie action of
single independent conprcfrations, aiiii ilic debates and [ilat-
forms of synods summoned and ratified in their decisions
by the General Comt, (hero was perfected here a distinc-
tive New England ecclesiastical jiolity. In this there was
no trace of a hierarchy. There was no primate, no su-
jierior or inferior clergy. Laymen partook equally with
ministers in everything apjiertaining to the institution and
discijiline of each single church. E.xcept in cases of scan-
dalous di.sorder there could be no interference, but only
sisterly relations of advice and sympathy between the
churches. The jihitfoi'ni nf doctrinal belief was adjusted
by the Westminster furmulas, and for a brief period se-
cured a general accord. The services in public worship
were as severely naked as were the edilices in which they
were held. In the bowlings of winter stoi-ms fervors of
feeling were (he siilistitute for artificial heat. A singular
conviction, e(uiimiin alike to the Scotch Presbyterians and
the Massachusetts Puritans, held it to be wrong to use in
fisalmody any more words than was unavoidable, besides
those of the original, in nietrifying the Psalms.

It was no! till (he hi]isr of a period vliicli marks the
term of a generation that that will-nigli forgotten manual,
tlie IJook of Common Prayer, was recalled to the notice of
the Piii-itan ehurelies in the P.ay. This was by a ]iei'emp-
tory order from the King in ltit)2, that full lilierty should
be granted to anv persons in the Colony who wished to use
that help and guide in their jmhlic wtuslii[). Hut it was
not till nearly a ipiarter of a century after that, that an

' Joumnl, i. 217.

NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CHURCH OP ENGLAND. 121

assembly gathered in Boston, listened and responded to
those services, with a surpliced priest to lead them, thoucrh
as vet without the orcran. The place reluctantly allowed by
the authorities for those unwelcome exercises was one of
the public halls. After that, an unsympathizing prerojra-
tive Governor, by his arbitrary encroachment upon the
proprietary rights, and his defiance of the earnest protests
of the owners of one of the three town meeting-houses,
took possession of it for the worsiiip of the Church of
England. He even had the effrontery to sugcrest that the
pulilic should furnish the funds to support his clergyman
and liis rites. To this pass liad it comi' lietween thr of-
ficials of that mother Churcli from which the exiles had
parted with tears, and their children who were grieved by
its strannc appearance among them.

Looking at the subject in all its points of full contrast,
one may well marvel that under the same profession of
discipleship in the Christian religion and of attachment
to it, two such diverse forms of ojiinion, character, and
conduct should present themsehcs as aiijicared rrspectivi-ly
in the English Cliurch and in the fold of Puritanism. The
word "piety" surely carried with it quite different mean-
ings for those who with equal sincerity sought to be guidnd
by its rule. But there were very different types of Puri-
tanism. Milton, John IIowc, and Bunyan were not of tlic
sort of men in opinion and tem[ierament that served for the
caricatures of Ben J-onsc^n in Ins " Bartholomew Fayre,
and of Butler in his " Iludibras." We may refer the un-
geniality and austerity of the Puritans of Massachusetts as
shown, f(jr instance, in their aversion to and neglect of all
festival days bearing sacred names, to two effective influ-
ences which wrought upon them. The first of these was
that of their own sad and distressing creed, to be brought
to notice in the ne.xt chapter. In this, as they believed,
fallen and doomed world, with a race of beiuL's upon it a
few of whom only were to escape [lerdition, all lightness of

122 TUE PURITAN AGE.

licart, sport ivcncss, and rpvclry were unseemly and wicked.
The other reason lor their (Jiscountenance of church festi-
vals nii^rlit allejie for itself some justification. Tlicy ob-
served that sacred names for consecrating festive occasions
were " |iro|]hanely " abused liy license, wantonness, and
e(jarse dissipation. The day after Christmas in Knpland
found the jails lilled with ri(jters, wassailers, and brawlers.
Witiiin a score of years after the settlement of Boston, the
quiet town with its staid and rigid ways was often scan-
dalized by the follies and excesses of strangers and sailors
brought here in the expanding commerce and traffic. This
was the occasion of the following unamiable and repulsive
enactment of the General Court in May, 1C59 : —

■■ For preventing disorders arising in severall pLices within this
jurisdiction, by reason of some still observing such festivals as
wire superstitiously kept in other countrys to the great dishonnor
of God and offence of others, it is therefore ordered by this
Court, and the authority thereof, that whosoever shall be found
observing any such day as Christmas or the Hke, either bv
forliuaring of labour, feasting, or any otlier way, upon anv such
accounts as aforesaid," shall l)e subjc<-ted to a tine of five shil-
lings. The same enactment forbade "unlawful games, as cards,
dice, etc." '

There is something alike pathetic and amusing in tracing
through the Diary of good Chief-Justice Samuel Sewall the
marks of his grief, chagrin, and, we may almost add. his
spite, at the intrusion of " tlie Church" on the guarded
domain of Puritanism. This, however, occurred only after
the revocation of the Colony Charter, and the substitution
of another which substantially put a period to the Puritan
atje and administration. There liad come to be in the
Colony many iMiglishmen, occasional visitors from the
English West Indies, for ])urposes of trade, and soldiers
and sailors of the Itritish army and navy. In the tem-

' lu'i'ords, vol. iv. ]p|. i. p. 306.

NONCONFORMISTS AND THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 123

porarv period of arbitrary government under Andros, aided
liy tiie persistent efforts of Randul(ih, worsliip hy the Eng-
lish ritual was introduced in lioston, and a church was
built in 1GS8. From that jieriod on to the War of Inde-
pendence a few missionaries of the Church were sent to
Massachusetts, as to other of our Colonics, sustained by
funds of a charitaide organization in England, and a few
of the natives of the Colonies went thither to obtain Epis-
copal ordination. By some of these, and by laymen pre-
ferring their ministry, the object of jirocuring from Eng-
land one or more resident bisho[is was earnestly agitated.
But the inherited and existing opposition to such tempural
and spiritual ecclesiastics as those from whom the fatliers
had turned their faces, jircvailed through our whole colonial
period to effect the exclusion from our soil of p]nglish
prelacy. After the Revolution the way was clear for the
E[)isciipal, as for all other denominations of Christiana,
without favor or hindrance, to cstaMisii its own [lolicv.
Ten of the missionary clergy in Connecticut in IT.SlJ chose
another, Samuel Sealniry, to go liy their request to seek
consecration in England. This was refused him, and as
an alternative he sought it from the \(jn-juror ijishops of
Scotland, who were without standing and functions in
England. Seabury received no official recognition there;
and even here at home many Episcopal ministers and lay-
men hesitated to regard him as having the full Apostolic
grace.' Three other ministers were afterward sent for
consecration, which by negotiati(jn, and the assent of I'ar-

' Seabury brouf;ht from England a "niitri'," wlii'h is proscrvfil under plass
ill the Library of Trinity Cdlle^c, Hartfonl. His ri-turn, witli his dubious
dignity, met with various greetings, from res[«?etful courtesy to raillei-y and
satire. He gathered under him fourteen " inferior clergy," resident iniH.sion-
aries then dropped from tlic pay of the Society. Though tlie .State was
lilentifully strewn with religious societies and ministers not needing his super-
vision, he signed himself " Bishop of Connecticut." He so magnified his
office that some of the people congratulated themselves that they had not had
among them before the War a real " Lord Bishop."

124 THE PURITAN AGE.

liaincnl, was frrantoil to them ; a proviso, however, denied
thciii any ecclesiastical standing in the realm. Thus by
the regular methods of I'^piscofiacy our country is -well
provided with its clergy, who arc doing faithfid and de-
voted service in its cause. So has the old breach with its
aninKjsities and its bitterness l)(;eii healed.

IV.

THE PURITANS AND THE BIBLE.

There are cogent reasons for bringing into an emphatic
relation of connection and union tlic Puritans and tlio
Bible ; for that Book was to the Puritans what it had
never been before to any class or communion of Cliristians,
and what it has not been since the close of the Puritan
age, even to those who in lineage and creed may be re-
garded as nearest in kin and sympathy witli tiiem. The
leading aim and ])urpose which tlir writer of tiicse pages
has in view, and which have prompted the positive and un-
qualitied statement just made, are to refer, to trac(>, and
explain the spirit which moved the Puritan founders of
Massachusetts, in their principles and legislation, to their
own peculiar estimate of and way of using the Bilile.
Strong and resolute as were their own wills as men, shar-
ing as they did all the jiassions, weaknesses, and limitati(jns
of human nature, they were held under the mastery of a
religious belief, in stern loyalty to which tiiey subjected
themselves and attempted to subject others. All tlic noble
qualities of the Puritans credited to them by candid
judges least in sym[iatliy with them, — their love of liberty,
their fidelity to conscience, their stern and heroic constancy
in self-sacrifice, the penetrating intelligence and good judg-
ment shown in tlic institutions which they devised and
fostered, and their generous thoughtfulness for tlje welfare
of their posterity, — all found inspiration and guidance in
their way of regarding and tlieir way of using the Bible.

120 THE PURITAN AGE.

And tci (lie same tvpi' nr fdi-iii of belief wc are to refer all
the (|iialitics i>\' Mussai-liiisctts I'liiitaiiisin wliicli are un-
lo\ely, it iiiav be e\('ii hateful, to us, tlie occu.siuii of gibes
and Katiies, (if ci)iiteni[it and invecti\e, even from those
wliii iiave rntiMi'd indi the lierilaL'e of I'liritanisni. P>om
the sam(! fountain lloucd waters both sweet ind bitter.
The bif^otry, the austerity, the harsh and eruel rule of the
Puritans inav Ijc directly traced to the creed which they
tinnh believed to l)e taufrht them by Ood in the Scriptures.
The I'uritaiL estimate and use of the fJiblc will further
ens-ape a somewhat detailed exposition when, in the follow-
inir puireti, we examine the scheme and method of their
Biblical eoramonwealth. We may here antici[iate what is
to be more definitely studied there by some general remarks
illusti'ating the opening sentence of this dixision of our
subject.

There is no lack of grave themes, in ojien debate, on
uliiili the minds alike of the common mass of men and of
those of the best training and enlightenment are divided
by the extremes of opinion and belief. I5ut of such sub-
jects that of (he most transcendent and momentous interest
yiresents itself tii us under terms whicli ma_\' be thus stated.
With the bold freedom of the speculati\c and scientific
processes of our own times, the jirofcmnd and all-c<impre-
hensive f|uestion which engages our pliil(is(ipli\- is this;
Whether (he force wiiich works througli the Kosmos in
physical law can rightly be conceived of as directed bv a
Person, a self-existent individual Heiug, a tJod manifested
ill Nature, providence, and experience? While that ques-
tion is debated on the high iields of jihilosupby, leaving in
suspense all the pregnant alternatives which wait on its
ilerisi<ni, another iact, of eipial signilicance, is this: that
miHioiis of our race liivve for many generations lieen read-
ing reverently and with eonlident assurance, in their \aiious
languages, a Pook called " the Word of Ciod." Leaiiing
over all the guesses, baitings, and doubts wliich result in

THE PURITANS AND THE BIBLE. 127

belief or denial to others, these millions of believers,
through tradition, edueation, or individual conviction, rest
in the assurance that in and by that Book thev are in con-
verse with liod, who through it discloses to them his mind
and will, his method of government, his decrees and pur-
poses. As such a Book, the Bible was to the Puritans, in
superlative regard, what it had not been to any generation
or fellowship of Christians before tliem, and wliat in un-
impaired, unreduced estimate it is not to any sucli fellow-
ship now.

The great exigency of the Reformation substituted the
Bible for the Church, for all the needs and uses of religion,
as a rule of faitii, for authority in the direction of con-
science, in spiritual discipline, in the guidance of conduct,
nnd through the whole course and experience of life. This
substitution of the Bible for the Church was followed by
the most serious and momentous conseciuenccs, of whicli
even tlie most sagacious nnd pi'oscieut-uiiudi'ii nn'n hud at
the time but vague apprehensi(ju anil appieciution. Tlie
Church — and in what is now to be aflirined of it the
Church signified the priesthood — stood for a supernatural
Rocietv or ordering set up in this world, with divine au-
thoritv and direction over the whole Christian fold. Its
claim and functions, indeed, were asserted only for spirit-
ual matters ; liut it reserved to itself the prerogativr of
delining the bounds between the sacred and the secular,
and its sternest rule was often witliin the range of tlie
latter. The source of its authority bring divine, that au-
thority was in its e.\ercise absolute. It was not to be qual-
ified or questioned at any ]>oint in which it might assert
itself. The line Itetween tiie priesthood and the laity was
sharply drawn, and was complete and cjcep. Qualified
theologians and ecclesiastics might discuss and pronounce
u[ion matters of faith, but laymen had no privilege or share
in such matters. They were to hear and obey.

The use of the IJibie, which came in with the Rcforma-

128 TllK PDRITAN AGE.

tion, broke the sway of tlie pricstliood, and created wliat
have since been calU'd lni//ncn for full recognition in tlie
Christian Church. Through tlie- wliole dominancy of tlie
Roman or Papal system it is but half the truth to say that
the IJilile held but a subordinate or secondary jilace in the
regai'd and service of Christians. The existence of such a
Book was absolutely unknown to the vast majority in suc-
ceeding generations, and only a very slender minority of
those who knew of it, wholly among the clerical order, put
it to any use. Even the monk Luther came to the' knowl-
edge of it by accident, when dusting a liijrary. When the
autliority of the Church for faith and discipline was re-
nounced, the Book became the alternative. Never again
will the civilized world be witness to such an outburst of
fervor and enthusiasm in all classes of society as accom-
panied the free circulation of the Bible. The peasant and
the artisan took it in hand as if it were a direct gift to
them from the archives of the skies. The Book at once
rose to its august supremacy, not, as now so generally re-
garded, as a miscellaneous collection of the world's sacred
literature, but as an ins[iircd, infallible, and comfilete dis-
closure to men of the mind and will of God. Its letter,
rather than what we call its spirit, had supreme regard.
We shall have abundant occasion to notice how the bond-
age to the letter of the single "texts," into which it was
divided, eh^udcd the minds of its most devout readers fi'om
the illumination of its divinest truths. The Westminster
Confession teaches that '"the Holy Scriptures are to be
read with a high and reverend esteem of them : with a firm
persuasion that they are the very Word of God, and that
he only can onalile us to understand them." What were
traditions, chun-h councils, priestly teachings, in ct)mpari-
son with the direct, the original, the sole vehicle of com-
munication between God and men ! To the supreme
estimate and tlu' free use of that Itook we are to trace
the source of democracv in Church and State; for the

THE PURITANS AND THE BIBLE. 129

Bible, the greatest treasure which the world lield, recog-
nized no prerogative of rank or privilege in its use, save
that it was to open itself most fully to the simple and
humble. The learned, of course, soon discovered that they
had an advantage over the illiterate in dealing with the
Bible. But they were restricted in the use of this advan-
tage by two limitations : first, the accepted belief that
only God's illuminating Spirit, not human learning, could
" open the Word " to the reader ; and second, that any-
thing like skill, ingenuity, or elaborateness in explanation
would impair directness and simplicity.

Let us, by anticipation, here recognize some of the graver
consequences which followed this substitution of the Bible
for the Church, as if it were suited to serve all the uses of
authority and guidance heretofore recognized as the func-
tions of the priesthood. The first of these consequences was
the assigning to the Bible a character, qualities, and author-
ity, and a fitness for the uses made of it, which it does not
claim for itself, wiiich are brought under searching ques-
tion when the Book is candidly and intelligently examined,
and which have been discredited in part by positive knowl-
edge obtained from other sources, and in part by the judg-
ment of tliose best (pialified to utter well-grounded opinions.
There was assumed for the Book unity, homogeneity, and
ultimate comfileteness in its contents ; but on tiie face of it
it shows itself to be a mi.scellaneous collection of writings
of vast diversity of tcjne, teaching, and value, by standards
of truth and edification. With that easy credence often
e.tteuded to objects and events invested with the glamour
of the distant past and knit with fond and reverent asso-
ciations passing down through generations, it came to be
taught and believed that there was a time and occasion
when certain qualified persons, divinely and infallibly
directed, selected out of all the world's existing litera-
ture certain so-called " canonical writings," to which they
assigned a divine authorship and sanction, inspired and

9

130 THE PURITAN AGE.

infallible in their teacliinps, dcsin-ncd and adapted for the
use to be miide oi thciii. \\'itli the most profound sin-
coritv and witli tlic nioKl dc\oiit gratitude was the Book
taken to tlie hearts of men in this eharacter. It could not
be other or less to them than it was tlnis believed to be, if
it was to serve as a substitute to them for all that the
Church had been, — as the bridge between earth and heaven,
the mediation between men and God. The I'ible was to be
the puide-book for every jjilgrim who cra\ed other guidance
than that of cloud and star.

Another of the graver consequences of the substitution
of tlie Bible for the teaching and guiding Church for
all the needs and uses of faith and piety, for individuals,
and in religious institutions and fellowships, was, that
thenceforth all unity and accord in belief and observance
became utterly impossible. If the Book itself were infal-
lible, there was no longer an infallible interpreter of it.
The right of private judgment was claimed for each indi-
vidual reader of Scripture. It was for each to make what
he could of it, as he did of the common fi'ce air of heaven.
The ultimate issue, however denied or withstood, has been
reached and stoutly maintained, never to be yielded, that
no individual official, or institution, or representative body
on the earth, is now interposed between God and man in
eternal adjustments.

This is not the place for tracing the nemesis, or retrib-
utive penalties, which have been visited upon Christen-
dom, of the fond belief and superstitious notions of so
many forms and shades associated with the Bible, because,
by constraint of circumstance and sei^ning necessity, it
was received as a subslitute for what the Church had been
to Christians. They had been trained in the belief that
there was on the earth an authoritative and suflicient me-
diation for them in all that constituted religion. The
depository of that authority being discredited and re-
nounced, where but in the Bible were tliev to find a snlv

THE PURITANS AND THE BIBLE. 131

stitute ? Painful and disheartening is it, to all who are not
ruthlessly indifferent to the tender affiliations with which
even fond superstitions connect themselves with all that is
sincere and sustaining to human hearts amid the mysteries
and burdens of life, to trace the long process of the assault
and the defence involved in the conflict between the tradi-
tional view of the Bible and the discrediting and discomfit-
ure of it. The old Church has been justly charged with
discouraging and visiting with its penalties the utterance
of views developed by intellectual progress, science, and
positive knowledge, in opposition to its teachings. But the
maintenance of the Puritan estimate of the Bible has re-
quired the same treatment of those whose candid inquiries,
discriminating study, and intelligent criticism have ex-
posed manifest tokens of human authorship, with conse-
quent errors, in the Book. The favorite plea of the
champions of the traditional view of the Bible is that the
criticisms and objections raised against it, though con-
stantly re-urged, have been over and over again met and
confuted. This is not true. Dead soldiers do not re-
ajipear on the battle-field. Objections so often parried
retain their vitality because they have not been confuted.

How vain is the attempt to pive any intellicrible defini-
tion of Inspiration as aiiplicablc to the wliole Bible ! What
ingenuities and sophistries, what j)laying u[ion the credu-
lity of the ignorant and confiding, have been put to use in
meeting the iionest questionings of thoroughly earnest
inquirers ! What freak of fancy in all the workings of
human brains has equalled the inventiveness of the genius
tiiat first suggested that tlie amatory idyl called " Solo-
mon's Song " is an allegorical illustration of the love be-
tween Jesus Christ and his Church ? Large portions of
the Bible had no more need, or opportunity, for the in-
tervention of " inspiration," than do those writings which
engage the pen of the genealogist, the narrator, or the com-
mon clerk. In that sublime Scripture bearing the name of

l;{2 THK rURITAN AGE.

" Joh," the ablest discussion (if tlie " Pioblem of Evil " to be
found in all the libraiies uf the world, bis three "miserable
comforters " ofler him 8oluti(jna of the problem which he
confutes. How does the quality of Insiiiration apply there ?
We niiij;ht ask the same (juestion about many of the sen-
tences in the book called " Keclesiastes," which liolds the
same eminent place amon^; the world's unnumbered essays
on the Summui/i Buhum, or the '•Object of Living:." The
book of "Proverbs" is a patheriiiL' up of all the floating
sententious wisdom of its ag-e and fdace. Some of its sen-
tences have a glow and pitch of supermundane wi.sdom in
them ; others are of the tone and earthlincss of " Poor
Richard's Almanac." So we lind through the Book utter-
ances of lofty truth, as of the speech of angels, alternating
with such as lack the discretion and decency becoming an
ordinary standard of moral teaching. And what is to be
said of the discrepancies and the acknowledged errors of
statement in a book so rashly called in its whole contents
the " Word of (Jod " ? And when that Book, set before
us as a substitute for the former ofTices and functions of
a Church, and left to be interpreted by the honest purpose
of every reader, is declared j)lainly to reveal the will of
tJcid and the way of salvation, so that one who runs may
imderstand it, what shall we say of the enormous and un-
ceasing toils of scholars, critics, commentators, and a[)ol-
ogists and defenders that have been sjient upon it for
centuries to make it intelligible, acceptable, edifying, and
credible to its readers ? Why in all Protestant theological
seminaries should there be needed such aide and learned
professors of dead languages, and such an apparatus of
erudite volumes piled in mountain heaps, with accessions
made to them every year, "so that the world can scarce
contain them"? The time, expense, and toil that have
iieen sfient by scholars and tlieologians in tdueidating and
defending the Bilde, if directed in other channels, would
long since have e.xpelled illiteracy and ignorance from the

THE PURITANS AND TUE BIBLE. 133

whole of Christendom. And all this in the service of the
one single Book asserted to be inspired and supervised by
God for the edification and salvation of the simplest in
understanding !

How blind were those who, in their straits for an
authority in religion, assigned to the Bible the estimate
and use which it had for the Puritans, to the results
which naturally and inevitably were to follow, when its
devout and earnest readers should find in it such wholly
inconsistent and contradictory systems and tenets for be-
lief! While some have found in the Book a God who is
a stern and dread Sovereign, bound by his relentless de-
crees, others are there won to love an indulgent and
all-merciful Father. The hopeless doom of the vast ma-
jority of human beings to an eternity of suffering '• in soul
and body" is tlie doctrine yielded by the inspired and
infallible Scriptures to one class of believers,— "to another
class beams forth tlie hope of salvation and bliss for every
individual of the race. The four distinct conflicts in mat-
ters of opinion and belief, whose course we arc to follow
in these pages, as illustrating the intolerant rule of the
Puritans, all found the whole material of variance and
strife within the pages of the Bible. None of tlie dispu-
tants— save to some extent the Quakers — went outside
of that Book for argument or belief, and all of them hearts
ilv and reverently accepted the Puritan estimate and use
of it.

The legacy of riglitful regard, or of fond superstition,
which the Puritan belief of the ]5ible has left to us has
within recent years had a striking illustration. Three well-
known and assured facts have been recognized and ad-
mitted by all persons intelligently informed on the subject:
(1) That materials exist for securing a better and more
faithful original text f>f the Scriptures than were within the
reach of those who translated the accepted English version;
(2.) That our living Biblical scholars are fully competent

I'M THK PUKITAN AGE.

to make lliu best use of those materials ; (3) Tliat there
are acknowledged faults and errors, obscuring and miscon-
struiut: tlu' sense and meaning in our version. Proceeding
upon these three undeniulthj facts, a body of scholars and
bestHjualilied men in l^igland and America were announced
as set ui)on the sacred task of revision. At once most of
the " religious ji_)urnals " sounded an " alarm," such as might
have been properly felt if a pro[)osition liad been made to
invalidate the title-deeds of their ]>roperty. Tin' intent
was that, accepting the traditional estimate of tlie Bible as
God's Book, a serious and faithful effort should be made
to clear it of all the faults and imperfections which could
be detected as having come into it through its human trans-
mission. Of course any changes, even only of words, would
grieve the sensibilities and tender attachments of many of
the living generation. It was supposed that these would
be conciliated by the supreme purpose had in view, and by
the thought that tlie generations to follow them should have
a Book more worthy of the same attachments. The years
of conscientious and gt^nerous toil came to a close. Tlie
results were given to English-speaking Christendom. The
ungracious reception of them need not here be discussed.
And even a graver theme would engage us, if we should
candidly recognize what is now freely described as " the
scandal of the clerical profession ; " namely, the reticence,
the insincerity, the dujilicity even, of religious teachers who
withhold the frank avowal of their own qualified opinions
about the Bible, and leave those who confide in their teach-
ings to infer that their traditional beliefs are unshaken. A
considerate allowance may suggest a partial palliation of
this compliance of religious teaehcra, in the extreme em-
barrassment they would find in reducing or qualifying,
while stdl se(^king to retain, th(> old Puritan estimate of the
Bible as the veritable " Word of God."

The statement in my opening sentences aOirmed that tlie
estimate and use of the Bible made by the Massachusetts

THE PURITANS AND THE BIDLE. 135

Puritans, as original in all the special and peculiar charac-
teristics marking the Puritan age, were confined to tliat
age. And by the Puritan age 1 mean the lifetime of the
first two generations here. Those who come closest to the
lineage and creed of the founders of New England do not
really hold their estimate and make their use of the Bible.
I know very well what strong or qualified protests may
be made against this assertion ; nor do I p)ropose at any
length to defend it. Those wiio are concerned are free
to challenge it ; but their cliief contest must be with the
air which we are all of us breathing. We may search our
Puritan literature in vain for an apology for the Bible,
while apology and defence are the chief services to it in
our time. If one would attempt by a single word to de-
scribe the attitude of mind and thougiit in wiiich the
multitude of {)eople of tlie average intelligence around us
stand to the Bible, we miglit say that it is "a bewildering
book." It puzzles and cinifoumls tiifm. We say and -liear
unchallenged, tliat the Bible is the best and most precious
of books whicli tiie world contains, and that in it " holy
men of God spake as moved by the Holy Spirit." But
while we speak or assent to those words there is a baflied
question in our minds. Why is it a book, one book, contain-
ing writings of every class and type which make up for
us in these davs the whole miscellany of literature ? And
what a marvellous variety of contents and subjects does it
present to us, — ranging over the whole scale between the
extremes of heavenly purity, sublimity of heavenly coun-
sels and revealings, and the grossest disclosures of human
foulness and frailty. And to this Book was assigned the
most august character and anthorsliip. It was dictated
and inspired by God, who informed the minds and guided
the pens of those who wrote it. Filled with oracles and
mysteries wliich our brooding thoughts aclie in the effort
to fathom, it was said to be so simple in its illuminating
power that the sage had no advantage over the little child

13G THE PURITAN AGE.

in the cntorinR in of its lit-'lit into his spirit. So keen and
searching is its glance into tlie inmost bcinf^ of man that
it is "quick and powerful, Kliai[)er than any tvvoedfred
sword, picrcinf^ even to the dividing asunder of soul and
s[iirit, and of tlir joints and marrow, and is a discerner of
the thou^dits and intents of the heart." It contains a wliole
armory of weapons and inijilements for offensive and de-
fensive warfare for the pilgrimage througli human life, —
breast[)late, shield, and helmet against all the fiery darts
of the wicked, a girding of truth about the loins, and the
sword of the Sjiirit.

It would not be in place here to trace by contrast with
the Puritan view and use of the Bible the estimate of it
held by those who read and study it with reverence and
gratitude now, and try to deal with the doubts and jier-
ple.xities which it opens for earnest minds. The full, con-
hdiug, unquestioning faitii in it as held by the Puritans
lias yielded to cautious and discriminating rules for its use.
Strangely inconsistent with the character for simplicity,
authority, and divinity once ascribed to it, is the ajiparatus
now [irovided for scholars and humble readers, of comment,
explanation, and vindication.

One of the most striking characteristics of the use of
the Bible by the Puritans was their rigid literalism, with
such slight — if, indeed, any — allowance fnr what we call
figures of speech, exaggerations, or orientalisms. If my
memorv serves me for the occasion, 1 am prompted to say
that it is only or chiefly in some of the gushing and glowing
pages of Roger Williams tiiat we find the first allowances
in all our early Puritan literature for the poetic pcrsonifi-
eati(»ns and rhetorical wealth of the language of the Hible.
Neither can I recall a single instance in which |)reaclier or
reader in oui- Puritan age sought relief from any ditlicultv
which the Scriptures presented to him in suggesting a |ios-
sible mistranslation of the original. Wonderful, indeed, in
its majesty, wealth, fulness, and variety of contents is that

THE PURITANS AND THE BIBLE. 137

volume for the uses made of it, in the aptness of its plirases
and " texts " for meeting:: and addressing all the experiences
and solemnities of human life. And will it not l)e a yet
more wonderful book to the world when we claim for men
their rightful share in the authorshiji of it ? While the
great illuminating Spirit has been seeking in it to come
into communication with humanity, men have responded
Ity trying in it their own flights and soarings above the
atmosphere of earth.

The fervent, intense, and confiding veneration of the
Puritans for *•' tiie Word," in the authority of its letter, its
divine fulness for precedent, usage, and guidance in all
tilings, was accompanied by as unswerviriir an allcLnance to
a creed, believed to have been aljly and faitlifully digested
from the Scri[)tiircs, — one or more '•texts" from which
accomi^anit'd and enforced each doctrinal statement. This
creed was the substance of catechisms for children, and
nutriment for tlio digesting and assimilating spiritual vigor
of strong men. Indeed, the most forcilile iiiustratic^n we
can give of the supreme reverence of the Puritans for the
Scriptures would be their constant, complete, and unswerv-
ing lovaltv to the creed which tin'v l)rliev('d to be taught
and certified bv those Scriptures. As one of the latf/st
students of Puritan history lias written, "a living coal from
the altar of Calvin touched their lijis. Tlu' gloom of Cal-
vinistic theology, the atrocity of its logical conclusions,
went for notliing with men who wci'e indiilerent to abstract
speculations." '

Tiiosc among us of Puritan lineage who profess still to
hold and stoutly to defend tlie old creed, at least, as they
phrase it, " for substance of doctrine," — the very quality
in it which they appear to others not to accept, — are gen-
erally aggrieved at any summary statement of its terms
and contents made by one who rejects it and C(jndemns it.
Tliey charge that it is not undeistood, tliat it is misrepre-

1 Uoylc, The English in Aineiita, i. 132.

138 TIIK PURITAN AGE.

sfiitcd and even caricatured. It may be that in all such
ca.scs cundiir .should make allowance iov the fact that only
a firm behcvcr in any tenet a[)prehends fairly wiiat it means
to him, as offered to, received, and interjireted hy his own
mind ; and that it is only for him to state it with the quali-
fications, the toninfjs of li^'ht and shade which it has as he
receives it. One who rejeet.H it misaiiprehends it. As a
mutti'r of fact, we have become familiar with and must
reconcile (jurselves to tlie claim of the fuivilege by many
around us to believe certain formulas and tenets which, as
stated in words, mean sometliin<: (|uite difTerent to them and
to ourselves. But we have need to make no such allow-
ance for the Puritans' constancy to the Puritan creed. That
creed is the exponent of Puritanism. Literalism or loose-
ness in adhesion to it measured the glow or the chill of
faith for them. They never apologized for their creed, or
mollihed, reduced, or toned down its strong affirmations.
Tiiere is not now in Christendom a religious fellowship
which, assenitjling its divines in solemn convention, could
or would digest and send forth tlic Westminster Confession.
We ha\e learned to make allowances for the different de-
grees of reality and intensity of conviction under which
belief is exercised. There is hardly a single religious trutli
which men believe as they do the truth that they must par-
take of fond in order that they may keep alive. The cen-
sorious Contrast so often drawn between the earnestness of
men in the pursuit of secular interests and their lukewarm-
ness in their religious interests, recognizes this difTerencc in
the ways of believing. And here agiiin we have to admit no
qualification for tlie fulness and intensity of the faith of the
Puritans in the IJiiile and their creed. In vain shall we
look in tlir r<'Coi-ds of what they sought for and did, for
any oilier key to their conduct — either in noble earnest-
ness and constaniy, or in l)igotry, austerity, and severity of
rule — than their way of lielieving and finding their law
in the Scriptures. Tiie (iod of the Old Testament rather

THE PURITANS AND THE BIBLE. 139

than of the New was tlie object of their supreme dread and
reverence. Their faith was stern, and only their strong
manhood made them able to accept it, — we cannot add
the words, love it. And this God presented himself to
them in the dreadncss of his sovereignty with a spell that
enthralled them. He was absolute in his power, decrees,
and purjioses. Wiiat he did was always and only " for
his own glory." Man was most filial and most obedient
when he magnified that idea of God. Do what God might,
it was enough that He had done it. It was in the con-
straint and completeness of an all-absorbing loyalty to
the sovereign will of tlie Suj)rcme Ruler that we cannot
err in finding the main reason of the truth — so justly af-
firmed — that loyalty to an earthly, anointed king stood
for so little with tlic Puritans as distinguished frum others
of their couutrymcn. They were poor courtiers. They
reserved all their gravest sentiments for the august Su-
preme. Without doubt it was the training in this direction
wJiich the first Puritan generation Ijorn on this soil re-
ceived from their parents, that made it so easy for those
who followed tliem to dispense with a king. Indeed, Puri-
tanism involved in its first priiici]jl('S a latent and by no
means unconscious anti[»athy to kingly rule. The Puritans
read in " the Word " that God, after remonstrating with
the Jews for their demand of a king, in yielding to their
importunity gave them reason for regretting it. Tiicy so
loved to associate sovereignty and all its august preroga-
tives with the Supreme Majesty that they grudged granting
any portion of it to men. There is a chasm of difference
between the references and addresses of courtiers and of
Puritans to king and to God. Tiic Puritans were ecjually
reconciled to both of the defirivations expressed in the
formula, '• No bishop, no king." If the colonists of Mas-
sachusetts had been Episcopalians, under the royal head
of the English Church, there might have been no Ameri-
can Revolution. I have not found iu the records of the

140 THE PURITAN AGE.

Puritan colony a sinj^lc spontaneous prompting of " loy-
alty," nor an oxprcsHion of it luit what seems eonstraiiicd.
It i.s true that tlie indnarcliH on the throne of Kii^daiuJ in
tliat pi'ridd were unworthy of ijcrsonal respect or homage,
but this was not the soli' imr even the chief reason for the
weakness of the spirit of allegiance in the Puritan for the
occupant of an earthly throne.

We cannot strain too bard the assertion that the sov-
ereignty of God — absolute, unchallenged in will, power,
and decree — was the root tenet of religion for the Puritans.
Recognizing that, we can understand how they not only
became reconciled but e\en found joy and comfoi't in as-
senting to, all the appalling doctrines of their creed as
deduced from and consistent with it, including its " atro-
cious logical consequences." If in spite of what is to us
the irrational, the shuddering substance and tone of that
creed, they felt under a constraining oliligation to believe
it, and even found " a fearful joy " in accejiting it, we can
well understand what a reflex effect it would have on the
fibres and nerves of their own l)eing. Severity of bearing
and of mien, austerity of discipline, and an awful discharge
of tiieir magistracy for God would mark their features and
their rule.

We must have before ns the leading pro[(ositions of the
creed, as they concern the relations of human beings to
the Creator, or, as we should express it, of tlie children
of God to tiieir Father, as follows : —

" After God had crc.ited all othiT iriaturos Ho created man,
male ami female ; forincil llie binlv cif (lie iniiii ef tlie (hist of tlio
fjniund and the wuiiian iif the rili of the man ; enilued tlieiii with
living, reasrinalile, and iiiunortal ."iouls, and made tliem after His
own imaf^e in knewled^e, rii.'lileoiisiiess, and luilines.'; ; having the
law of (Joil written in llieir liearts. and power to fullil it.

"(iod, plai'in;; man in Par.aiHse, entered into a covenant of
life witli liim iit>on condition of personal, perfect, and perpetual
oliedienee, of which the Tree of Life was a jiled^e ; and forbid-

THE PURITANS AND THE BIBLE. 141

ding to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil upon pain
of Death.

"Our first parents being left to the freedom of their own will,
through the tempt;ition of Satan transgressed the commandment
of God in eating the forbidden fruit, and thereby fell from the
state of innocenc}' wherein they were created.

" The covenant being made with Adam as a publick person,
not for himself only, but for his posterity, all mankind descending
from him by ordinary generation sinned in him and fell witli him
in that first transgression.

"The Fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and miscrv.

"Sin is any want of conformity unto or transgression of unv
law of God given as a rule to the reasonable creature.

" The sinfulness of that state whereinto man fell consisteth in
the guilt of Adam's first sin, the want of that righteousness where-
in he was created, and the corruption of his nature whereby he is
utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite unto all that is
spiritually good and wholly inclined to all evil, and that continu-
all}', which is commonly called Original Sin, and from wliich pro-
ceed all actual transgressions.

"Original Sin is conveyed from our first parents unto tin ir
posterity by natural generation, so as all tiiat procc(<l from thcni
in that way are conceived and born in sin.

"The Fall brought upon mankind the loss of rommiinion with
God, his displeasure and curse, so as we are by nature chddren of
wrath, bond-slaves to Satan, and justly liable to all punishments
in this world and that which is to come.

"The punishments of sin in the world to come are everlast-
ing separation from the comfortable presence of God, and most
grievous tormeuts in soul and body without intermission in hell-
fire forever."

The formula then proceeds to state that mankind heinj^
thus wrecked by failure under a first covenant of works,
God, not leaving all to fjcrish, of —

'■ riis mere love and mercy delivereth His Elect out of it by the
covenant of grace made with Christ, as the second Adam, and Lu
him with all the Elect as his seed."

142 THE PURITAN AGE.

Tlie three Divine Persons in the Godhead have each a
part in tliis covcikuiI. 'J'iie Son, taking' fiesh upon him, is
to satisfy the liroi^cn law of tlie Father, hy a Racrificial
offerina; for the Elect, whom the Holy Spirit is to sanctify
so that thev may avail themselves of the offering made in
their liehalf.

" Tlicv wlio liavinp nevor hoard the po8[i(l know not Jesus
Clirist anil liclieve not in liim (^innut be- saved, lie thev never bo
diligent to franiL' tlirir lives according to the light of Nature or
the law of that religion which they profess.

'■ Effectual Calling i.'; the work of fJod's almightv power and
grace, whereby out of His free and especial love to His Elect and
from nothing in them moving Him thereunto, he doth in His ac-
cepted time invite and draw them to Jesus Christ by His word
and S[iirit.

"The souls of the wicked are at death cast into hell, where they
remain in torments and utter darkness, and their txidies kept in
their graves as in their prisons, till the resurrection and judgment
of the (ireat Day.

" At the Day of Judgment the wicked shall be cast into hell to
be punished with unspeakable torments, both of bodv and soul,
witli the Devil and his angels forever."

The Elect, including; " their seed," baptized and dying in
infancy, being thus saved, —

" tlie rest of mankind God was pleased — according to the un-
searchiible counsel of His own will whereby he extcndeth or with-
holdeth mercy as He pleaseth for the glory of His sovereign power
over His creatures — to pass by and to ordain them to dishonour
and wrath for their sin. to the praise of His glorious justice."

Tliat last reference to the sovereign will and glorv of
God stopjied tlie month of the true Puritan helicver, and
answered what would have been Itis rebellious qticstions
before he could ask them.

This " Confession of Faitli " — tlie summary of the Puri-
tan belief concerning the relations between God and the

THE PURITANS AND THE RIBLE. 143

liuman race — derived its thrall of power over tlicm from
two sources : first, from the supreme sovcrcignt>' assiujned
to God hy the fearful severity and tlic grim austerity of its
tenets; and second, from the absolute and unshrinking
loyalty with which it was held. The framers of it were
content simply to state it, without analysis, explanation, or
comment. Argument or reasoning in its advocacy would
have been to them an impertinence ; apology for it would
have been cowardice. Put into the forms of our common
speech, in equivalent terms, the creed may be set fortii as
follows : —

Ood "created" only a single pair of human beiuL's. All
the uncounted millions of our race, f<jll()wing on through
the ages, are the product of natural generation by the same
sexual method that propagates animals, birds, fishes, insects,
reptiles, and plants. All these human generations existed
" in the loins of Adam." God set him to be the " Federal
Head " of the race, as its first representative, ehaiged to
act for his race, in responsibility and destiny. <Jn his j)er-
sonal obedience or conformity to the divine comuianil were
staked the character ami fortunes for this earthly life, and
for an endless futurity of bliss or woe, of all of human iiirth.
By disobedience the head of the race fell from innocence,
and lost the fruition of blessing, bringing a curse upon the
earth, the field of existence for his olTspring blighted as
the scene of sin ami sorrow, and consigning all his pos-
terity to guilt and condemnation. They are born with a
nature utterly disabled, alienated from all that is good,
and inclined to all evil. But this impaired natural ability
carries with it no immunity, no privilege of reduced re-
sponsibility, as the divine law imposes its full exaction.

A method of redemption and salvation is f)rovided,
which, however, is in fact applicable not to the race as a
whole, but to individuals called the " Elect." The Divine
man, who comes to the earth to die as a sacrifice for sin in
satisfaction for violated law, does not, by redeeming all,

144 THE PURITAN AGE.

rrpair the whole Ciitasl ri)|ilic wriiiifi;ht by the human man.
IIdw easily .Satan made the conquest of this once fair
world, and of the destiny of tliose to whom was friven its
mastery! In view of the tragic failure of the first experi-
ment 111" liuni;inity in its openini: stat^^e on this earth, wc
arc touched by the fitness of the fiatlietic lament which we
read in (Jenesis vi. G: "And it repented tin; Lord that he
had made man on the earth, and it Lrric\ed him at his
heart." We can but ask, however, whether by the theory
of Ins[)iratioii we are to regard that sentence as an avowal
of the Divine disapfiointment, or as a comment of the
writer of it. The " Elect," whom alone Christ saves, the
formulas of the creed leave us to conceive of as thus de-
fined : In the archives of heaven there arc, so to speak,
record-books, on whose folios are the individual names in
their generations of all who are to live and die on this
earth. Of these, simply according to God's sovereign will,
some arc selected, with no reference to their own merits
or efforts, to be the subjects of his saving grace. The
rest, whatever be their proportion of the whole, are — mo-
mentous words ! — "passed by," left as reprobates to an
awful doom. These live their allotted time on the earth,
whether only the days of infancy or the years of priv-
trarted age, and then at death, instead of being allowed
to [lass into nothingness, are kcjit in conscious existence
forever to suffer the torments of hell.

It was never claimed that this creed was conformed to
natural justice or to enlightened reason. Nor was it a
valid objection to it that, instead of being so conformed, it
outraged both justice and reason. It was therefore but
futile for natural justice and enlightened reason to dispute
Ibe creed. This was accepted submissively and lovallv,
solely on the ground that it was the revealed will and
decree of flod. t)idy as coming from that Divine Source
would it have been admitted as authoritative. And here
we must recognize the sturdiuess of temper, the front of

THE PURITANS AND THE BIBLE. 145

courage, the heroism of spirit manifested by the Puritans
in their attitude of docile and untjuailiiig bchef. And
more than tiiis; thcv were wont to irlorv in the crushins:
down of all their natural discomliture and reliellinj,^s, in
that the creed prostrated " the pride of liuman reason "
and humiliated the creature, that honor and majesty might
accrue to the Creator. Augustine's willingness to believe
a thing because it was imiicissible was surpassed by the
Puritan's Imnibled, but not bowed, loyalty to bis creed.

^^ hat known fdrni of heathenism presents to us more
shuddering, hideous conceptions of the Divine rule, of the
relations between the Father of men and his children,
than tlie Westminster Confession ? The curse of being
born by the will of man, and the curse of dying by the
decree of God, are equally darkened in woe. We know
what penalties and agonies, by persecutinn and in(iuisitorial
tortures, men have inflicted upon tlieir fellows in tiie service
of religion. Might they not plead that thry Icarnrd their
cruelty from tjod? Would those who held so crutl a creed
shrink from any act of cruelty to tlicir fellows '.' An Indian
chief at \cw|)ort, so far ;ui he could be made to understand
that differences of religious opinions were the reasons for
the gathering in his fair island of so many exiles from
Massachusetts, exclaimed, in liis bewilderment, " What a
God ha\e the English, uhu deal so with one another about
their God I "

Whether it be ofTei'i^d in palliation or in condemnation
of the severities of the J'uiitau rulr, these must largidy be
charged upon their creed. An illustrative example may
here be in place, allowing perhaps the sternest of tlie
Massachusetts Puritans to siieak for himself.

The materials are abundant for illustiating the harsh,
vindictive, and cruel spirit quickened and intensilied in
men under the mastery of this assurance that as " God's
people" they could interpret calamities to others as his
direct personal judgments. Men otherwise of gentle s]iirit

14G THE PCRITAN AGE.

in social and domestic relations, and of lovinj;; friendships,
were signally enlliralled Ijy this 8])irit. Eiidicott's letters to
Wintlirop, especially when lie was ill or under misfortune,
are yearningly tender in their affection and sentiment. But
lit us see how he could write to his r(,'vered friend about
others, not "godly," under the shock of u dire catastrophe.
The ship "Mary Rose" "was blown in pieces with her own
powder, being "Jl baixels," in thr haibor of Charlestown,
July 27, lb4U. On the next day Kndicott writes: —

Df.aiu'.st Sii;, — IIc;iriiig of tlie remarkalili' stroakc of God's
hand upon tin- .'.lii|i[ie and ^hippes conipanic of Hristoll. as also of
some Atlieistii'uU passages and hellish profanations of the Sab-
baths and derijings of the peoiile and waves of God, I thought
good to desiru a word or two of you of thu trueth of what you
have heard. Such an extraordinary judgement would he searched
into, what GchIs meaninge is in it, both in respect of those whom
it coDcernes mort^ espeeiallie in England, as also in regard of our-
selves. God will be honred in all dealings. We have heard of
several ungodlie earriadges in that shi]i. as, first, in their way
overbound they would ronstantlie jeere at the hnlic brethren of
New England, anil some of the marriners would in a scofle ask
when thev sliiudd conic to llie liolic Land. 2. After they lav in
till' harhor Mr. Norrice sent to llit- shippe one of our brethren
upon busines, and hee heard them say. This is one of the holie
brethren, moekinglie and disdainefullii'. 3. That when some have
been with them aboard to buy necessaries, the shippe men would
usuallie say to some of them that they could not want anything,
they were full of the spiritt. 4. That the last Lord's Dav. or the
Lord's Day before, there were many drinkings aboard, with sing-
ings and musiek in tyines of publiipie exercise. 5. That the last
fast the master or i aplaine of the shippe, with most of the corn-
panic, would not go til tlie nieetinge, but read the booke of eonimon
[iraviT so often over tliat soiue ol tlie com|iaiiv said that he had
worne that ihrecdbare, with many such pas.sages, Kow if these
or the like be true, as I am persuaded some of them are, I think
the Iriielh lieenif would be made kniiwen by some faillifidl hand
in Brisloll or else where, for it is a verv remarkable and unusuall

THE PURITANS AND THE BIBLE. 147

stroake. Pardon, I pray you, my boldness hcerein. You shall
conimanJ mee in any service I can doe. I write the rather be-
cause I have some relation that way, and shall therefore be 'glad
to he throughlic informed of theise things. This bein all at pres-
ent, I leave you with the Lord, desiring myne and my wief's
heartie love and service to be remembered to yourself and your
dearest yoakefcllow, aud rest

Yours ever assured,

.Jo. Emji;cott.
Sal£m, the 28tli ofth^- 5th nioncth, 1G40.'

One may well marvel liow tlie fieiitle and tiMidrp-hcarted
Samuel Sewall, as a judp-c of the victims of tlie stark
delusion of vvitclicraft, could sit in condemnation of Rev.
Geortre Burrough, his contemporary in college, and the
welcome guest of his home. Hut the sjiirit of a cruel and
relentless creed had overmastered (he amiabilitv of its
devout disciple.

In justice to the jiersfiective of truth we should here
remind ourselves that large allowance is to he made for
the general inhumanities and the judicial severities <jf the
Puritan age in all Christendom. Ca|iital penalties, with
extreme harbarities in inflicting them, were very numeious,
and for trivial offences. Tortures, mutilations of the hodv,
and disease, starvation, and death in loathsome dungeons
were miseries endured l)y many of tlie selectest spiirits of
our race. It cannot, however, he doubted tiiat sou)e of
the harshest severities of the Puritans here were stimu-
lated, and in belief justified, by the spell wrought upon
their spirits hy their intense schooling in parts of the Old
Testament Scriptures. They read there of direful deeds
jiromfited, directed, and rejoiced over hy God. Starting
with the a.xioni that the heathen were to be exterminated,
the wars of the Jews were favorite reading for the Puri-
tans. The vindictive and relentless savagery which in-

' i llasa. Hist. Coll., vi. 141, 142.

148 THE I'UniTAN AGE.

eluded wtinic'ii and cljildrcii in NlaiiLditer, deeds of surprise
and I iiMcliii y rclci'icd lu the l)i\inc iiistii/atii^u and afn
jii'dval, li\rd in the Puritan mind, as lii'nily as it was
]ilanti(i in the cdnvictions of the J-'ainiliars of tlie Inqui-
sition, the hrlici Ihat tiie hody shouhl .--urti.-i- any stretch of
torture in thr iutcirst of the sold. 'I'lie I!f)ok of "Judges"
— a stran^ri' title f(jr the militaiy di'spei'achjes wiio figure
in it — was favorite icadiiif for tlii' I'nritans ; it gives in
round and lariic nunihi;rs the count of the slauL'litered.

Tlie facts that wc have among us now, the friends and
associates of our daily lives, tliose wlio profess reverently
and devoutly the old standards of I'uiitan piity, that great
religious fellowshijis are covenanted hy them, and that
tlieological seminaries are pledged to indoctrinate succes-
sive classes of candidates with them, to he fircpared for the
Chiistian ininisti'y — are accepted by many of us with a
niilil aii|ui('sernee relieved hy certain misgivings in our
minds. We ask, I)o they really believe so? And we have
a way of answering the question satisfactorily to ourselves.
]!ut this may lead to tiic further question, IHd the I'uri-
tans, with whom we are dealing, verily, sincerely, and pro-
foundly liolil. without any re(luetion oi- hesitancy of faith,
the ti nets of tlicir creed V Tlic answer must be that they
did. We liave all the evidenei' in the case that we coulJ
desire. We must remintl ourselves, however, laying the
greatest Stress of emphasis upon the niost significant fact,
tiiat the Puritan creed was constructed under vastly difler-
ent \ie\\s and beliefs about jihysieal nature, human nature,
and tiie I)ivine nature, Irom those uhieh now L;uide and
express the convictions and thoughts of intelligent [lersons.
We must also bear in mind the fact already stati'd, tliat it
would he utteily impossible for that creed to \iv formulated
tn-day lu anv Christian fellowshi|>. We retain in use
forms of s|ieeeh founded on thi' Ptolemaic theiu'v of heaven
and earth, but we do not beliexe what llie woi'ds assert.

As to the lirm and sini'ere Ixdief of the I'ui-itans in the

THE PURITANS AND THE BIBLE. 149

very letter of their creed, the evidence, as I have said, is
ample and cogent. I have tasked my memory in vain in
the attempt to recall from all the pages of the real Puritan
divinity which 1 have read, a single deprecatory or apoln-
getie utterance indicating mental dissent from thr pro-
fessed creed. Calvin did indeed pronoimcc one of its
tenets — that of the damnation of nnbaptii;ed infants — "a
horrible decree." But this was simply the avowal of a
strain upon his loyalty in bowing to it, not a hesitancy in
accepting it. The Puritan creed was digested and for-
mulated in terms as rigid and e.xact as the Englisli lan-
guage, when its words and forms nf speech were more
direct and concise than they are now in the expression
of abstract statements, would allow. It was not intended
that tliere should be any elasticity in the meaning oi its
words or in its propositions. This elasticity, howevrr, lias
in our time been found by some wjio, while avowing an
acce[itance of the creed, do not believe it as di<l tliosc who
worded and pjirased it. Tlir Puritan did not set liimsclf
in judgment u[ion the creeil. lie o]ieui'd the liianiud hjr
receiving it as his life's food, and ti'ustcd to its own work-
ing for getting digested and assimilated.

The " burning question " which kindles the strife about
the " Progressive Theology '" of our day — as to any liope
for those who have died in heathenism — was anticipated,
with Itut one answer to it, among <inr Puritans. The nobli',
laborious, and patient John I'lliot says that some of his
Indian converts "had a gift in putting diverse, [lerplexing
questions," as Ik; trieil to convey to them the tenets of
Calvinism. Among them was a question as easy for him
to answer as it was ff)r them to ask, — " Where were tlieir
ancestors and deceased children '.' " The gooil man un-
flinchingly wrote, " I could only answer that the jiromise
was only for believers and their seed." He could not give
them even the comfort of ofTering the petition which had
found its wav into the Enirlish Prayer Book, '• Remember

150 THE PURITAN AGE.

not, Lord, our offcnccH, neither the offences of our fore-
fathers." The creed was taui:;ht in tlie earliest years of
childhood, before any receittivc or interpretative faculties
could connect with it intelligent ideas. The " atrocious
logical deductions" from the creed ha\e not hindered but
that men of eonsununate intellectual powers have toughened
their mental sinews in grappling with it. Jonathan Ed-
wards, intending jirose, wrote its logic into poetry ; and
Michael Wigglesworth, intending poetry in his doggerel
verses, gives us a prosaic conclusion in assigning to non-
elect infants "the easiest room in hell."

Another reason assuring us of the loyalty of the Puri-
tans to their Creed is found in the suggestion that with no
less of appreciating love for the Scriptures, though with
less of indiscriminate bondage to the letter, they, as some
of their descendants have done, might have found in the
Bible the materials of quite a different creed. To many of
their lineage in blood and faitli, to whom the Bilile, instead
of being the absolute and final authority, is the most pre-
cious of all hel|)S in religion, it opens by a more intelligent
and discriminating use the most illuminating and quicken-
ing truths for the guidance and sanctification of life. And
tlieir reverence and love for it still exalt it above all other
books. But to say simply that the Puritan believed that
the Bible yielded to him the creed which he found in it
would be i)ut a tame form in which to express his devout
trust in it, his entire submission to its doctrines. A mat-
ter of prime im[)ortance presents itself for our considera-
tion here. When a creed or formula of doctiines has
passed by tradition and the succession of church-fellow-
ships, as an inheritance of several generations, while words,
plirases, and forms of sp(^ech, with the ideas and sentiments
intended to bo expressed by tliem, are found to have a
range of meanings in the chang(>sof their signilicancc, there
may be fair occasion to concede, as we have abundant evi-
dence in these our own days, that the creed may not signify

THE PURITANS AND THE BIBLE. 151

to their successors precisely what it did to the Puritans. It
may then be a delicate matter to put to a test the sincerity
of those who profess still to believe it. But we have to
remind ourselves that the Puritans constructed that creed
freely and deliberately, materials and opportunity being in
their hands, and leavinjr them at full liberty to formulate
what they believed to be the doctrinal teaching of the
Bible. What they found there they set forth in literal
terms and propositions. Of course, then, their assent, tiieir
hearty and full belief were spontaneous and thoroughly
sincere. The substance and spirit of the doctrines wliich
they thus received, and which to those wjio repudiate or
would modify the creed are so hateful and incredible, were
the very qualities which won to it their reverent belief.
In the continuous discussions and controversies which that
creed has opened among the descendants of tlic Puritans,
those who have rejected it have been charged with doing
so by the " conceit of human reason," and because of '' its
liumbling of human pride." The Puritans, as has been
already stated, loved to glory in tiioir creed, because of
those very offences in it. A jiortion of tiieir descendants
have frankly and deliberately renounced the creed, cither
as unscriptural or irrational, or both. Another portion,
professing to adhere to it, allow themselves liberty to re-
construct it, as they say, by iScripture.

The full and intense sincerity of the Puritans in the
belief of their creed is put beyond all question, and at
the same time is most strikingly and instructively illus-
trated to us in a characteristic class of writings peculiarly
Puritanic. One of the richest def)artments of our marvel-
lously varied English literature is composed of diarirs and
journals. To them we are indebted for our most intimate
knowledge of the characters of the writers and of some
of their contemporaries, of the workings of human nature
in individuals, of the secrecies and intrigues of domestic,
social, and political life, and for the means of verifying and

152 THE I'lUtlTAN AGE.

rpconstriictiiiL'' tho pas( for fompnrisfin in an infinite num-
ber of details widi tiir present, (hie speeial and distinct
class of these diaries, tliuuf!;li not strictly confined to the
Puritans, was, in its most characteristic features, purpose,
method, and contents, peculiar to them. Jt was the class
of relifrious diaries. But they are to lie defined more defi-
niti^ly than by that jreneral efiithet. The true Puritan
believed that he had entered individually into " a co\enant
with God," the terms of which foi- both pai-lies were dis-
tinctly known, understood, and solemnly bimlins' on each
of them respectively. From time to time this covenant
was " renewed," on occasions of mental conllict. or under
the chills and fervors of pious self-consecration. Au^'-ustine
was the first of these Puritan diarists. If the e.xjiression
may be allowed, as conveying the literal truth in so many
cases, the Puritan opened "a debt and credit account" with
God. He had come under co\enant by faith and profes-
sion and self-consecration. He had recognized the terms
which God required and accc]ited for thr adoption of a
child of his grace and a subject of his mercy ; and tliese
terms he had owned as the rule of a devout and oljedicnt
life. In the mean while, holding liimself to duty in fulfill-
ing liis part of the covenant, he frankly and boldly re(juircd
of God to meet the terms of his own gracious promise.
Instances many, and of rich ]isychological interest, might
be quoted from old Puritan diaries, in which the writers, in
their own privacy with God, set down their accounts, and
then try to cast the balance. Nor are there lackini: cases
in which the writers, under gloom or despair, while en-
deavoring to deal stiictly and frankly with themselves,
dare to confront God with the question whether he lias
been true to his owti promise of grace and help. The his-
tories of Governor Wiiithrop and Governoi' liradford, though
in the main recording public matters for posteritv, contain
many revelations of private religious experience, as of men
under covenant with (!od, owninij; a standar<l of dutv, and

THE PURITANS AND THE BIBLE. 153

dcpcndinn; upon special Pivinc help. Tiic diaries of In-
crease, and of his son. Cotton, JIather, have lony; served
tlic historians, Init have been for tlie most part put to use
— whetlier fairly and profitably, or otherwise — by those
who have tried to penetrate the secrets and infirmities of
Puritan character in some of its most pronounced individ-
ualities. Both of those diarists, the son more tlian the
father, often reveal themselves in their private records, as
deliberately and with every efTort of sincerity castinti: up
their accounts of debt and credit with God, — with y;rim
intimations, on some dark occasions, that the balance is on
tlieir side, that God had failed in some reasonable con-
dition of the covenant. Cotton Mather's all too-coninuini-
eative pen reveals him to us on his solemn days of fastint',
self-reckoninir, and intimate con\erse with (iod, as rolling;;
and writiiinrr on the floor of his locked and darkened
lil>rary, moaning and weepincr, pressin.c; upon his present
Ijut unseen Companion his plans and labors of consecrated
works, so ill-rewarded and ap[ireciated tliat lie himself was
made the sport of detraction and contumely. The dismal
impression made upon the reader of the record is that the
human and tJie Divine parties in that interview are niutunlly
teasing and fretting each other. There is one brief entry
on that private record which draws to the sufferer the
human heart's full sympathy. He had given the name of
his honored father, the president of the college, to a son
who grew to lie wholly wortliless and depraved, a disgrace
and a poignant grief. When tidings came of the death of
the outcast in a foreign land, the father writes in the
record : " Increase ! my .'^on, my Son ! " '

Governor Winthrop does not appear to have kept one of
these private religious diaries recording his {)ersonal inm/r
experience. His refined delicacy of nature may have

1 Only extracts of portions of the diaries of tlie two Mathers have been jpiit
into print. The ori2;inals, in manuscript, are preserveil in the cabinets of the
Massachusetts Historical Society and the American Antiijuarian Society.

154 THE PURITAN AGB.

sliniuk from llip work. His expressions of individual
piety, so simple and earnest, in his letters to his family,
disclose the depth and fervor, tin; profound sincerity, the
{)urity, and the tender uOectionateness of liis heart, free
alike from despondency and elation of spirit. One can
easily trace his own confidence in tlic obligations of '' a
coveaant-keepin": God " to meet the trusting expectations
of tiiose who liad sought to bring heart and life into con-
formity with liis will.'

John Cotton had liefore his lleath enjoined that his more
private j)apers, esjiecially those concerning his part in the
Antinomian controversy, should be destroyed.

The very communicative and instructive journal of Judge
Sewall divides its contents about equally between public
affairs and his own private experiences. His pages abun-
dantly inform us how precious and sufficient the Bible was
to him on the estimate and use of it characteristic of the
Puritans. His amiability and kindness of heart were
turned to sternness only wlien " the Word" was slighted.
He also boldly held God to conformity with covenanted
obligutions. Jlost touchingly in recording his trials and
wearily taxed patience under the ]irotracted suilerings of a
daughter, does he add — and by no means as a common-
place utterance — that, after having called in the ministers
one by one, he leaves the case with God.

These Puritan diaries, these reckonings of tlie devout in
their covenant relations with God, were by no means con-
fined to men in jilacc and station. We have remnants and
traces of them from many of both sexes in private rela-
tions. Their contents and spirit reveal to us the tone
and method of Puritan iTKHy, as derived wholly from, and
ill stiict conformity with, the Puritan creed in all the sin-
cerity and intensity of belief of which the human lieart is
capalile. Sweet and gracious often arc the religious com-
munings of some of the finer spirits of the Puritan matrons

^ See avtr, p. &6.

THE PUEITANS AND THE BIBLE. 155

and maids, like the " Meditations " and revealings of Anne
Uradstrcet. But more often arci \vc led to douljt and dis-
trust these intended faithful records of the inner life,
lemindcrs of solemn obligation, measurements of the
heights or depths, the elated or morbid exercises of the
spirit, and challcngings of the Divine Comforter for a
promised help or assurance or peace.

To one who has turned the leaves and paused upon the
records of these Puritan diaries, the conviction will be
irresistible that they were prompted by and conformed to
an implicit and full belief of the doctrines of the Puritan
Creed concerning the relations of God and men. Of course
these private reckonings were written for the most part by
those who were both under individual covenant with God,
and in church covenant with brethren and sisters. The
standard of obligation and fidelity was all the more exact-
ing to the thoroughly sincere, as, while left to apply it most
scarcliingly to themselves, they were held to critical and
inquisitorial observation by others. We may altogether
exclude from notice here the possilile temptations of insin-
cerity, partiality, and hypocrisy in facing self-revelations,
in favoring one's own case or interest, and in the judgment
of other persons of oiiposing views or interests. Hyjiocri.sy,
selfish ends, and antagonisms are incalculable elements and
forces in all human relations. Our concern is only with
those who in their religious self-reckonings knew that they
were under the gaze of an All-seeing anil an All-discerning
Eye. Experience and the judgments of the discreet in such
matters have for the main decided that religious diarii's
of the Puritan kind are neither wise nor healthful exercises
either for conscience, cheerfulness of spirit, or charity for
others. Meteorological and physiological disturbances
creep into them. The tone of the nerves, the vapors of
ill-digestion, the depression and the excitement of momen-
tary feelings and scruples, now keen and then relaxed, will
inevitably obtrude upon the calm and poise of the spirit of

LSG THE PURITAN AGE.

(lie wrltor. The roliLnoiis diary camo info use with the
I'liritan type of piety, and has passed away with it. The
chaiiires of tlic weather and temperature, of the stcjcks and
tlie mai'kcts are more likely now to fill the private records
of our more j)raetiral times.

The J5ihle, tlic Creed, the personal Covenant' with God,
thus present themselves before us as the elements entering
into the type and style of Puritan piety for liclief and life,
— a Book of literal inspii'ation and supi'eme authority, re-
ceived as from the hand of (lod throuLrh a cloud ; a Creed
which was to be devoutly and imjilicitly believed, by the
subjcctini: and liumiliating of the protests of natural jus-
tice and enlightened reason ; and a personal ( Vjvenant
with God in terms of mutual obligation and promise. What
outgrowth and form of character, what qualities of con-
science, what standard of recognized duty for the individual,
and what conccfitions of rightful relations to others, would
be the effects and results of this type of piety, we are re-
lieved from the necessity of defining in terms, because we
are to have before ns practical illustrations of it in the
legislation and administration of organized Puritanism.

One suggestion ina\' be made here, in anticipation of
facts to be more fully presented in dealing with the contro-
\ersies between the Antinomians and Quakers, when the
Puritan type of piety was brought under question and re-
proach. It was rightly charged by both these classes of
reputed heretics that the Puritan rule and method of piety
wei-e, in the dialect of the time, " Legalism," a revival
under the t!os[)el disfiensation, of the Jewish "law of
Works."

The absorbing aim of the Puritan was to secure for him-
self '' Sanetilieatioii," by oliedience, eomiilianre. and faithful
observance of all the means and hel|is for training the will,
directing the conscience, and ctmforming life anil conduct
to certain coiuiitions required for salvation. This object
exacted scrupulosity, intense watchfulness, painful an.xiety,

THE PURITANS AND THE BIBLE. 157

and stern sclf-rockoning to hnlj the believer to tlio terms
of " a Covenant of Works." The Antinoniian and tlie
Quaker had found, if not an easier and laxer, eertaiiily a
liappier method, through " Justification," the attempt to
reach an internal peaceful assurance of the Divine favor
by a " Cdvenant of (Jrace or Faith." Reference to tliis
matter of deep and bitter contiict between tlie Puritans
and the heretics, is made here, that we may have before
us a contemporary view of the style and ty])C of Puritan
piety as it was regarded by those who believed it to be
formal, mechanical, and superficial.

It is in place here to intimate the tact that, while the
Puritans made an estimate and use of the Bible, and ac-
cefited a creed peculiar to themsehes and vitally distinctive
of their type (jf [liety, so also was their view nf the si'rvice
of prayer almost exclusively their own. One who has in-
formed himself u[)on the inner exercises of tin' inilividuiil,
domestic, social, and civil life of a Puritan romiuuiiity, and
also of their method and cundiirt -of worship in their
religious assemblies, will be at no loss to account for tlieir
disapprobation and disuse, and soon their dislike and even
contenijit, of all set forms of prayer, and especially for the
liturgv of the English Church. It had often been atliinied
by Church writers in their own time, as it is to this d;iy,
that the "apostles and first Christian disciples used a ritual
and a form of ju-ayer, " Collects," etc., iii their common
worsiii[). The Puritan had but to rrfci- to every place in
the Gospels, Acts, and Epistles of the New Testament
where reference is made to uniti'il pra\er, to assure himself
that it was inconceivable that any collects or set foi'ins
could have served on such occasions. The breathings and
petitions of devotion tiiere referred to were as free iind fer-
vent, as unstudied and spontaneous, as was the spirit
which ])romj)ted them. From the beginning to the end of
the Biltle they found no single recognition of a form for
common worship. '■ The Lord's Prayer," the only seeming

158 THE PURITAN AGE.

exception, was to tliem a <ruide for closet devotion, and
tli<' ti-i\iul and niecluuiical way in wliicli in the ficuances
of tlic Roman Chui'ch it had been eniphnx'd in " vain
rc|>rtitiuns," to he recited "twenty," "forty" times, had
wellniirh alienated them from more than reading it in its
place in the tJosjiel.

The distinctive [icculiarity of the service of prayer in
Puritan devotion was characteristic alike of what many of
tlieir lineage now ap[jro\e and honor, and of what tiiey
regret and reject in tlieir ty[ic of j)iety. Their ideas about
their s[iecial covenant relations with God gave tone and
form and sulistance and method to their prayers. Using
the word freely, without stopping to limit or qualify it, we
might say that dictation to the Deity, rather than petition
or submission made them bold in j)rayer. They stated and
defined in special terms, on occasion, in what form, direct and
full, they would have thcii' requests granted. Tiie pledges,
the promises, the assurances wliich they believed God to
have ratilied when they had j)ut themselves in filial and
sacramental relations with him, gave them claims and ex-
pectations of whicli at least they felt at liberty to remind
CJod. Doubtless, the length of the Puritan devotions, as
well as of their sermons, lias been exaggerated. Wc know,
however, that those most concerned as hearers did not
com[)lain of weariness, and that any " stinting" of religious
exercises was a grie\ance to them. The distinctive jiecu-
liarities in the Puritan service of prayer are very signili-
e.'iiitly recognized when we trace and account for the
rhanges and modifications in the ton(\ method, and usages
of the ]iublic devotions in the worshi[i of those in closest
alliiiity with them in belief and observance in our own
times.

If is within (he recollection of some now livimz here that
in the Sunday worship of emigregations botii in city and
country towns, " Notes, recjucsting Prayers," in tiic name o£
inilividuals or families were read liv the olliciatiiiix minister

THE PURITANS AND THE BIBLE. 159

before the principal devotional service. Tiicse Notes cov-
ered a large variety of experiences, — voyages, births, sor-
rows, afflictions, and bereavements. 1 recall an occasion
in a country meeting-house when sixteen sucli notes were
read, — more than one of them, perhaps, offered by dif-
ferent petitioners in different relationships referring to the
same case. The birth of a child in a household prompted
the parents — who rose in their pew at the reading of it —
to send up an offering of "thanks for mercies received." '
In the early New-England churches there was much that
was befitting, edifying, and even beautiful, in thus engaging
the devotions of a whole congregation in the deeper per-
sonal experiences and circumstances of individuals and
families among them. Though there was a recognized dis-
tinction of degrees, dignities, and of social standing, — far
beyond what there is now, — even in rural sftllements,
there were mutual interests which bruuulit all into ac-
quaintance and symjiathy. Anything unusual, of a serious
nature, in the experience of one was known to and ajH
pealed to all. Neighborly ofhces and ministries were lifted
into public prayers. It was instructive to observe how,
under changing circumstances of domestic and social life,
when occupants of neighboring pews and houses might
not know each other by names, the original, full-hearted
wording of the Notes for Prayers yii'lded, — in ils way to
an entire disuse, — first, by a substitution of "A family
in this congregation," etc., instead of the name, and then
by silence on such subjects.

The " free prayers " in the Puritan assemblies took the
widest possible range of tone, substance, detail, and, we
must add, even of the temper of the spirit that breathed
them. Not infrequently, as we may read in the Journals

' The Rev. Dr. Frothingliam, niinistcr of tlie First Cliurcli it[ Boston from
1815 to 1850, told nie that after he liail rcail ninny sueli "Notes" for his
parishionei-s, he, in his own case, ronhigneil tlie custom to desuetude by
omitting the observance on the birth of his first child.

100 THE PURITAN AGE.

of Wintliro]! :iii(i Srwall, tlic private opinions, partialities,
ami iri'ii'vaiii'cs of a minister in iiis I'oiations with others
found ntti'i-ancc. On thi' occasions of tlu; animosities and
contentions wliiidi are to lie leliearsed in the following
paL'es, (111' pnlilir devotional exei-eises wi/re made tlie rae-
tlium of exeiled and e\en emhittered feelings. No dis-
tractions oi- provocations of this nature a[)[)eajed in the
usual tone and method of the I'uiitan pi'ayers, whicli, in
tlic liest sense of the |ihrase, hecame " Common Prayers "
under the anxieties and straits of tiieir wilderness begin-
nings, — dreads of Indian assaults, of foreign interference,
of plagues, of murrain, of the failui'e of crops, of storms
and earthquakes, and changes in the government at home,
— wliich caused deep anxieties. Under those circumstances
to have conlined the devotional services of tiie Puritans to
the forms, collects, and ritualisms of a pailor or a boudoir
ceremonial would iiave deadened rather than calmed their
spirits.

Several of the uovernors of Massachusetts now for many
years, in regularly appointing the first Thursday of April
and the last 'I'liursday of November, respectively, as days
of Fasting and Thanksgiving. June alleged the example of
the Fathei's in so doing. A careful examinati(m of the
Records will show under what important qualilieations
such a statement must lie made. In no case was a day
for eitlier observance selected as a matter of routine, of
course, with any reference to the season or calendar of the
year. The occasions were indilTerently assigned tlirough
all seasons, with this serious condition, — that a delined
and emphatic reason, in oppoi'tunity or emergency, was
given in each case in setting before the whole |)eople of
the Colony a matter which windd be sure to engage their
de\ (it ional sentiments. Without such a speciiic consecra-
tion, an ollicial l''ast J>ay cannot but be used as a holiday.
Tliei'e are instances on the Keciiiils in wliich the Court
a|ipoinled at the same session both a Fast Day and

THE rUniTANS AND THE BIBLE. 161

a Thanksgiving Day to be observed at a few days' interval,
— the reasons, occasions, and material for each being very
distinctly and cogently assigned.'

It is by the changes of time and circumstances, rather
than, as is often said, by changes in taste and regard for
the fitness of things, — except as these latter modifications
are the result of the former, — that the peculiar character-
istics of the Puritan methods of public devotion have grad-
ually yielded, occasionally giving \Aace to book-services.
Tiiese, in their turn, have to be allowed some elasticity in
missionary wilderness work, and on emergent occasions
like those of the Puritans.

The subjects of the Creed, the Covenant, and tiie service
of Prayer, as deciding the tone and type of Puritan piety,
have thus presented themselves to our notice in coimection
with their peculiar estimate and way of using the Bible.
All the modifications since traceulile in matters of belief,
of religious fellowship, and forms of worship, have been
incident upon a changing regard for and a diflerent esti-
mate of the Book. If we have been digressing from the
main theme of this chapter we must return to a further
reference to the sacred volume. One otlier, and it may
be the supreme and crowning, reason for the exaltrd value
which the Puritans assigned to the Bible is yet to be men-
tioned. They held tlie Book to be not only a complete, but
also the final, communication of God to men. Their belief
is thus expressed in the Confession, of which we must
mark the emphasis : —

" Tlie wliole Council of God concerning all things neces.sary
for liis own Glory, Man's Salvation, I"\iitli, and Life, i.s either
expressly set down in Scripture, or liy good and necessary Con-
sequence may be deduced from Scripture. Unto wliich nothing
at any time is to be added, whether by new Revelations of the
Spirit or Traditions of Men."

' Record.s vol. iv. part il pp. 280, 320, 346, 631.
U

162 THE PUniTAN AGE.

Tlio fiFRt impression made upon us by tlic last sentence
is that of its presumption, the hip-h and extreme assurance
in its statement. It was well enoujrh to exclude the ex-
pectation of any further religious lielp from the traditions
of men ; but to close the hope of any further communica-
tions from (!od to men, to jiut him to silence, seems in-
congruous with living faith, and certainly with anything
consistent with humility and reverence in the Puritans.
If it is to be j)ardoned, it is solely V)eeause it was a way
of exalting the treasure in their possession. It seemed to
say of the Bible, as we say of a critical opportunity, " Prize
it, make the most of it, for you will never have another ! "
The Puritans apfilied to the whole IJook, as if its contents
were a unit, some of the closing sentences of the Revela-
tion of Saint John, warning against taking from or add-
ing to it. We can well understand bow they would have
grieved over a loss of anything in the Book, though we
might well be reconciled to parting with some of its con-
tents. But would they not have welcomed further com-
munications from the Spirit ? Two objections rise in our
minds to their mode of silencing God. First, they rejoiced
in believing that God had "at sundry times and in divers
manners" spoken to the fathers. To assert that there had
been, and was forever to be, a cessation of that mode of
Divine intercourse was to prompt a s])irit of scepticism
and doubt — so effectively exercised in our time — as to
whether God had ever "spoken," or whether imagination
and credulity had not originated the belief. Second, con-
tinued revealings through the select sjiirits of saintly per-
sons would liavc liebly authenticated the earlier revelations,
while the abrupt closing of the mute heavens would cover
the earth with gloom. I!ut this bold and jiositive assertion
of the Puritan creed, stated as an artirle of faith, to exalt
the estimate and value of the Bible, leads us to anticipate
here a matter which we shall find to have had vast influ-
ence when, further on in these pages, we have to deal with

THE PURITANS AND THE BIBLE. 163

the sad altercations and controversies of tlic authorities of
Massachusetts with the Antinomians and tlie Quakers.

All the enthusiastic sects of the time claimed to have
direct, private, personal illuminations and " revelations "
independent of the Bible. The stress and importance
which any of the wild sectaries of the period laid upon
these divine motions and promptings marked the stajrc and
degree of the fanaticism attributed to them. There was no
standard or test to which these private revelations could
be brought for a trial of their sanity, or even reasonalile-
ness. They might he alleged in justification of any form
of eccentricity, fanaticism, and extravagance. Notoriously
they were enlisted on the side of disorder, violence, inde-
cency, and gross immorality. When a delicate and vir-
tuous matron pleaded that she was compelled to divest
herself of all womanly modesty by apjKiaring unclothed
in the public streets and in the public asseuilily, in order
that she might comply with a Divine call upon her to do
so, however clear and firm might be her own conviction
in the case, tlie act itself would show it to V)e a delusion.
The amazed spectators might or miglit not give her the
benefit of a charitable construction, — that slie was "dis-
tracted in her wits." It was enough, however, for the
Puritans to abide by their accepted rule, that there were
to be " no more revelations of tlie Spirit." All the illumi-
nations and Divine promptings — and these were to them
precious and inspiring — which tiiey or others could enjoy
must come through and from the Bible, but not outside or
independent of the Bible. The edict which they announced
in their Confession, of a final and closed commimieation
from God, utterly precluded and interdicted all firivate
revelations. We shall see what stress was laid upon this
point in the trial of Mrs. Hutchinson, and in the judicial
proceedings against the Quakers. To some critical readers
of our time the question may present itself whether the
Puritans in this matter did not act blindly and inconsist-

1G4 THE ruRiTAN a(;e.

cntly. Tlicy read iii the sa(,TU(J voluiiu; of promptings and
iniitioiis ;iscrilii'd to (Jod, under wliicli his servants and
prophets went from phice to place, delivered messages,
uttered their inirdens and denuneiations, and performed
certain symbolic acts with garments, girdles, and bottles.'
These narratives tiie Puritans found credible and edifying.
The Quakers claimed the same divine promptings, and
uttered similar warnings, with similar symbfilic acts. The
fatal difference, however, was that after the Biljle was com-
pleted Divine revelations had ceased.

Most faithfully, witli unwearied, j)atient apjdication and
constant study, — with the aid (jf learning, if they liad it,
otherwise with a sim]i!e craving fcir liirht and trutli and
guidance in the religious life, — did the Puritans use the
Biijlc to serve for them directly in jilacc of ]iriestl\' teach-
ing and to relieve the dumbness and silence of Nature.
While they objected to the routine and formal way in
which it was used in their old ])arish churches, tlieir direc-
tory for worship provided that it should l)c read in course,
always followed by exposition, not in the " dumb reading"
of the Church. Though but few of tlie first comers here
could have had the Book in the compact and convenient
forms familial- tn us, all who cmild do so, dispensing witli
a prayer-book, took the holy \()iume with them to tlieir
public worship, and diligently turned the leaves to follow
the references and citations made by the minister. It can
hardly have been but that some jiassages must have been
omitted in the public reading as unedifying and even worse ;
hut not 80 in the private liome. The family Bible in the
Puritan household was the present angel of the dwelling,
and the fire never went out on the altar. Happy were the
families, es|)ecially the children in them, whose copies were
enriched witli the generously furnished and tiften beautiful
engravings of the olden V\n\f. liesides the daily devotional
services in each well-ordered home, there were special uses

' Isaiah lu.

THE PURITANS AND THE BIBLE. 165

of the Bible on the Sabbath which must have been irksome
and weariful to youthful tlesh and spirits. Both the ser-
mons of the day were to be '• repeated " and commented
on with further e.xplanations and applications. Portions
or chapters of the Bible were to be " got by heart," as aids
to the catechism. The bright child in the home who had
attained to skill as a good reader had the privilege of
serving as such, and many of the Tiouseholds furnished an
imitative boy who could extemporize a sermon and occupy
a cliair as a pulpit. Very welcome was it to such cliil-
drcn when in the course of the annual perusal of tiie Bible
tliere came in turn the fascinating stories of Joseph, of
Samson's foxes, of David and Goliath, and like narratives
where tlie human transcended the divine. The perennial
toy of childhood is a more or less artistically executed
model of Noah's ark.' Many and richly suggestive have
been tlie nursery discussions over that wonderful, sailless,
rudderless vessel, with its three stories, each with its sealed
df)or, and, heedless of ventilation, a window at tlie top
wliich must needs have remained closc'd. Besides the eight
full-grown persons that were to enter it for refuge, — the
patriarch, Mrs. Noah, their three sons and their wives, —
there were no infants or children to engage sympathy.
Some perplexity attended the double narration, leaving it
uncertain whether there were only a single or seven pairs
of all the creatures to be jireserved. There was no trouble
about the larger of these creatures — the ele[ihant, camel,
rhinoceros, the horse, the horned cattle — as they marched
witli sober steps into tlie ark ; but where were tw(j mice
and two mosquitoes, with like small beings, stowed away ?
And when the lonely dove went out not to return, what
became of its mate ? We may be assured that many ques-
tions about the Bible were put to the elders in these

1 It has bepn stated in public prints that tlirce million models of this toy
have been manufactured by a single firm in Germany.

IGG THE PURITAN AGE.

liouseliolds which it was necessary and wise to leave un-
answered.

How tlic Bible, or " the Word," in its lawK, examples,
" instance.s," and precedents was put to use hy the I'uritans
in their civil and relif^ious j)olicy, will appear as we next
examine the Commonwealtii which they attempted to fash-
i(jn and administer by it.

Those who, deterred by its uninviting character and hav-
ing no occasion to search it, are wholly unversed in our
early Puritan literature cannot form any adequate concef>-
tion of the stores of instruction, illustration, and sutrL'^cstion
by incident and example which it yielded to its close and
revering readers. In recalling the past we must be as
faithful and lenient as is possible to its tone and spirit.

V.

THE BIBLICAL COMMONWEALXn.

In attempting to trace in the following pages the devel-
opment of the aims of the founders (jf Massachusetts as
set forth in the principles and measures of their rule in
civil and religious affairs, the writer avails himself of a
plain and positive statement to serve as did a text for a
sermon by one of their divines. This statement must an-
nounce a matter of fact clearly assured and certified by
satisfactory evidence. It may embrace a generalization of
very many particulars which will serve as such evidence,
and it must involve only such merely inferential and inci-
dental elements as, without being strained or ingenious,
shall be perfectly consistent with the facts which they are
intended to explain or supplement. There is, however, but
little occasion for relying on inferences rather than facts
in defining the aims and princifiles of the founders of Mas-
sachusetts. These will be abundantly presented l)y them-
selves in their avowals and pr(jceeding8. The writer may be
permitted, without personal obtrusiveness, tosay that he has
read and thought ujion substantially all that is extant and
accessible in print or in manuscript from the pens of those
most concerned in the earliest years of our history. Mr.
Doyle is not alone in suggesting that our early local writers
were sufficiently im[)rc8sed by a conceit or a conviction that
their subject was to have interest for the world.

The statement advanced, to be followed u[) in narration,
is this : The founders of Massachusetts — the prime movers

1G8 THK ruiUTAN age.

ill tlio enterprise, its rcspiotisiljle leaderB, tlie proprietors of
its franchise, eli:ir;ri'<l with its f.rovernineiit and welfare, and
its watciiful f^uardiaiis ajxaiiist tlie many risks and catas-
tniplies whieli nii^dit ini[ieril the venture — held a deep and
earnest convictiDn under the supreme insjiiration of which
they acted. It may b(^ expressed as foUow.s : they believed
that tliey had the means of knowinj^ the mind and will of
tiie Supreme Hein;^ — the (!od whom they most reverently
owned and worship[ied — for the rule, (.'■overnment, and
conduct of a community of human tjeinjrs in a social, civ-
ilized state ; that this Divine will was communicated by
revelation, transmitted throuf^h a Book. Those wlio ac-
cepted this rule put themselves under a covenant of oljcdi-
ence to it, and tliis secured to them the right and privilege,
and held them to the obligation, of comfielling at least a
resjiectful regard for it from all who were under their gov-
ernment. The only alternative which they recognized for
this divinely revealed rule was the being left to the insuf-
ficient light of Nature, as all othei' peoples of tlie earth
had been except .Jews and Christians, who were '"covenant
peo[ile."

It is a satisfaction to us that in the voluminous records
of the Court of the Company of Massachusetts Bay we can
find a full narration of its legislation and administration.
Tliese records are candid and communicative. They cover
the proceedings of the corporation in EiiLiland, presenting
the reasons and method for its transfer with its charter
to this country, and then give us a continuous account of
legislative and executive govcrnnient under it. We have
already traced in the motives and avowals of the leaders of
the enterprise of c(]lonization before they left Kiighmd, the
religious Bpiiit and prompting whieli moved them. Win-
throp, ill those tciucliing and earnest expressions of his
which we liave read, may justly be regarded as represent-
ing his associates. Ami we have had before us that dis-
tiuctivelv Puritan belief about the Bible and its use which

THE BIBLICAL COMMONWEALTH. 1G9

would guide them in their pcoNornment. The enterprise
was prompted by a constraining sincerity and eh'vutioii of
purpose. There can be no uncertainty or (|uestion about
that. Such being the master motive, it sliduld give tone
to our judgment of it. That motive, though of course not
exclusive of others of a secular character, was paramount
to all others. It was not a mercenary prompting, nor self-
seeking, nor with a view to license for themselves or domi-
nancy over others. It was the inspiratiun of dut\', not a
grasping ii)r power. The scheme would rrrpiire self-suli-
jection and sacrifice for themselves, and restiaint and a
very severe disciidine to be exercised over others. But this
was not all. Most certain it is that the leaders patiently
and faithfully bore the burden which they had assumed for
themselves. They were themselves subject to the stei'n and
iron rule of their own principles. They were not restful, or,
as we say, happy in themselves. They were perplexed and
tormented liy vexations of their own invention. Their rule
over those on whom they imposrd their discipline, includ-
ing many who were in covenant with them, was harsh and
cruel. And here we may present to ourselves what in our
retrospect appears to us to have been the root and occasion
of all their errors, of the infelicities of their own cxfieri-
cncc, and of the sufferings of others at their hands. We
tiace it in the assumption and conceit, the spiritual pride
and intoleranci' involved in thrir p(?rsuasio[i that their re-
ligious covenant had secured foi' them the special favor of
God, and ijualiti<'d and empowered them t(j extend tlieir
religious rule as representing the will of God over others.
Sincerity of the ])urest and most profound character in
holding that conviction could not free it or guard it from
an erroneous, a mischievous, and an unjust exercise of
authority.

Let a suggestion be here interposed in which we may
recognize and admit how reasonalih' and natural — we may
even say how inevitable — it was that among the many and

170 THE I'URITAN AGE.

varied schemes, secular and reli^^ious in their aims, which
have heeu devisrd in Buccettsive geuerations and under
chan<!:ing circumstances for tlie Koverument of ci\ilized
men in their civil and social relations, trial in its turn
should he made of a Biblical conmionwealth. Wliile the
licpublic of I'lato and the Utojda of Sir Thomas More
stand as ex[)ositions of the ideal of commonwealths, lit-
eral, jiractieal, and experimental trials of such on various
bases, and by ingenious schemes and organizations present
themselves in long series in human history. Jfennonites,
Moravians, and Shakers have their historic and their liv-
ing interest for those who study them in their substantial
qualities or their eccentricities. Exactly two hundred years

after the so-called Massachusetts Theocracv was established

«

there appeared among us the phenomena of Mormonism,
with its claim of religious sanctions and purposes. One
may trace resemblances or utter contrasts between these
schemes and those of the Puritan State. The Mormons
professed to be directed by a Book of Revelation, with an
interjireting ])ro|ihet and inspired iiishops. They planted
themselves in remote regions with fresh, wild, but fertile ter-
ritory, where they jiractiscd thrift and secured prosperity.
Dark disclosures of acts of lawlessness and violence, mas-
sacres, and gross immoralities striking at the purity of do-
mestic life, if they do not turn into contempt and scorn
all the jiretensions of Mormonism to be a divinely insti-
tuted and organized form for a commonwealth, put it
wholly aside from the Puritan system as established here.
Reasons (juite in the order of nature and ex]ieriencc will
suggest tliemselves to us, as we think upon the matter,
why in due time, with lit and favoiing conditions of hu-
man agents witli motives and o|iportunities, a trial should
be made of a liiblical comnionwealtli. It was for tiie
founders of Massachusetts to make tliat trial. They not
only believed tiiat the conception admitted of being realized,
but under tlie spirit and faith which guided them they were

THE BIBLICAL COMMONWEALTH. 171

persuaded that a constraining obligation held them to place
themselves under such a form of government, civil and re-
ligious, as became those who were in covenant with God.
As before intimated, this experiment is not to be regarded
as an invention of their own ingenuity, a conceit of their
own fancies. It came to them and was listened to by them
as a Divine call which they were constrained to obey.

If the fullest information which we can reach concerning
the ruling motive and intent of the leaders in this scheme
of a Biblical commonwealth warrants tlie view here taken
of it, then we arc at liberty to draw from it an inference
which should come in to help us in pionouncing judgment
upon the character of their administration. Had tlicybeen
attempting to put on trial a scheme of their own devi.sing,
like a communistic or associative secular enterprise, or one
which engaged more or less of a religious purpose, they •
would liave been amenable to judgment not only for the
practical wprking of their scliemc, but also for the folly or
the fancy manifested in conceiving it. But if the Fathers
of tlie Massachusetts Commonwealth could speak to us it
would be to tell us hardly more plainly tlian they do in their
records, that the enterprise which they were putting on
trial was not theirs ; they did not devise it, and therefore,
iu trying to make it {)racticable, were not responsible for
its working, nor for its incidental effects upon those who
opposed it. It was not that they were forcing upon others
their own principles, beliefs, and opinions. They had put
themselves under a I>ivine lule which (Jod had revealed
as his holy will and law for all men. That rule was as
authoritative and exacting for the unregenerate and the
uncovenanted around them and among them as it was for
themselves. The only difference between them and these
others was that they had acknowledged their obligations
to this Divine rule, had come under its directions, and in-
tended that their whole policy in Church and State should
be conformed to it. They had reconciled themselves to the

17'2 TUE rUIUTAN AGE.

sflf-subjcction, self-denial, and sacrifice which it required
of tlu'iii. Tliey had renounced all of their natural liberties
and wilfulness and seekinii; of their own ends and filcasurc
which their covenant with GckI demanded of them, and
had [lut themselves in liis hands to obey his commands,
and live and die for him.

As has been already avowed in these [lapjes, the only mo-
tive wjiich the writer recognizes as fircjmptinir an intelligent
and candid study of this j)criod of our history, with it,s
stern legislators and the severities of their rule, is its
significance and interest as presenting one phase in the
working out of luiman progress for the enlightenment and
enfranchisement of our race. The subject might claim an
liistorical study if it merely concerned an outbui-st and
spasm of religious fanaticism. IJut this Massachusetts epi-
sode was something other and better than that. Recogniz-
ing, as we have done, the purity, the prevailing sincerity,
the earnestness, and elevation of jjurpose of the leaders of
the enterprise, we acquit them of all hypocrisy and duplic-
ity, and we accept their own avowal of the rule by which
they were guided. Their self-defence, then, under any ques-
tion or censure to which they were subjected, would consist
in a [lien that not they, but God, assumed the responsibility
for all that followed in the sinci/re attemjit to administer a
commonwealth according to his revealed will.

This plea would have been a good one under certain es-
sential conditicms. It would ha\e had force if all who were
concerned in tlie I'uritan Commonwealth — the leaders and
the led, the governors and thr governed, the magistrates
and the peoj>le — had with one purpose and consent freely
and lieartily put themselves under that Hiblieul rule.
Serious practical dilheulti(>s and perplexities, and enough
of them, would even tlim liave presrnted (bem-^ehcs : liut
thev would have iieen diO'erent in form and in treatment
from those which had to be dealt with here. Kven in the
Turitan churehes where this covenant of a common belief

THE BIBLICAL COMMONWEALTH. 173

and purpose was supposed to unite all the members, who
also voluntarily pledged themselves to come under cacli
other's " watch and ward," there was disorder with discord.
But in the civil commonwealth this Divine rule, as inter-
preted and exercised by those only who had recognized its
obligation, had not been accepted by all over whom it was
extended. Those who represented God and who claimed
to be acting for God in the commonwealth were from the
first a minority of the people. They began by securing the
civil franchise exclusively to themselves. Their struggles
to retain it and their own way of exercising it involved
them in all their austere and severe proceedings against
disturbers and opponents. This claim to represent God, as
his authorized agents in interpreting his laws and will for
the administration of civil affairs, was constantly asserted
by the magistrates of Massachusetts ; nor did they hesitate
to affirm it in their intermeddling with the institution and
discipline of their churches. In an appeal in behalf of the
maintenance of ministers the Court speaks as " nursing
fathers of the churches." ' Nursing " fathers " may not
be expected to be as tender and gentle as the more appro-
priate nurses ; and so we find that some of the most arbi-
trary proceedings of the Court were in the affairs of the
religious fellowships, which in the institution of them were
nominally intended and asserted to be independent and
self-regulated.

The most odious aspect and quality of Puritanism to
those most repelled by antipathy to it, in its own age and
in the judgment of our times, is the assumption and con-
ceit connected with the belief of an elect and special fa-
voritism with God secured by a personal covenant with him.
Christendom in its average spirit will not allow that any
one can hold that belief in humility and in generous sym-
pathy with his race. The claiming a right to the " long-
boat" for escape from a wreck, leaving the whole ship's

' Eecorda, iii. 424.

174 THE PURITAN AGE.

company to their fati:, is not a manifestation of nobleness
or freneroBity. The Puritan view of CJod as the pitying,
nicrcirul I'^atlier of all his children was wholly subordinate
to their view of him as a stern sovereign, ruling by decrees
which wore as inexorable as those of Fate on its brazen
throne of destiny. The familiar jjopular pibc which gained
its currency in the Puritan age — "The world belongs to
the saints, and we are the saints " — is not overstrained
in its sarcasm against those who claim any measure of pre-
cedence or authority over others as themselves an elect and
covenanted people.

We return from this digression to acquaint ourselves
from their own records and proceedings with the form of
rule in Church and State set up by the Massacliusetts Puri-
tans. It may fitly be described as a IJiblical common-
wealth. This was a form of government whicli should find
its model in the wlujle Bible as the Jewish commonwealth
was set forth in tJic Old Testament. And yet in tracing
the working out of the Puritan form of government in Mas-
sachusetts, we are constantly reminded by many significant
facts that the spirit and letter of the Jewish Scriptures had
more weight with them — certainly were more frequently
and constantly referred to for guidance and exam[ilcs — than
the Christian Scriptures. The Puritans, however, were un-
dertaking to found and organize a state. The Christian
Scrifitures had nothing direct and specific for aiding this
object. These rather assumed and took for granted the
existence of civil and religious institutions, without desig-
nating or defining them. It was the Old Testament that
fiirnislied the Puritan pattern, " the statutes, laws, and or-
dinances of (Jod." How they distinguished among these
such as they should re-enact will by and by be stated.
There was not a single professionally (rained lawyer in their
corporation, nor is there the slightest intimation in their
records that they regretted or felt the deficiency. They
believed they had a substitute in a Divine statute-book.

THE BIBLICAL COMMONWEALTH. 175

The politics of Puritanism were developed from its the-
ology. Its legislation consisted in the re-enactment iiy men
of the laws of God. The Puritans had satisfied themselves
that they had means of knowing positively and fully what
these laws of God were for the government of a civilized
community. They did not feel the need of an earthly
monarch, as the King of kings was enough for them.
Hence their theulogy and their policy matured into democ-
racy, though our early Puritans appear not to have appre-
hended that fruitage, and would have repudiated it. We
have been accustomed in later times to the description of
their Biblical commonwealth as a theocracy. Such in
fact it was intended to be, and so far as their experiment
succeeded, they thought it was. It is to be noted, liuwever,
that neither in their Court Records nor in their private
papers do they adopt that term, tiiough its intended
equivalents appear. I can recall only one occurrence of
the word " theocracy " in our earliest literature, and there
its connection gives it interest. In 1G36 Governor Win-
throp received certain inquiries and propositions " from
some persons of great quality and estate, and of sjiecial
note for piety, whereby they discovered their intentions to
join the Colony, if thoy might receive satisfartion therein."'
The proposals contemplated two houses of government : the
one of nobles and gentlemen, with liercditary rank and
rights, from whom the Governor should be always chosen ;
the other of freeholders of the commonalty. Each house
should have a negative. In reply to these proposals Mr.
Cotton, in a letter to Lord ."-iaye and Selc, gives us the fol-
lowing very clear description of the form of government liy
the Bible model which was being set up here as "an ad-
ministration of a civil state according to God : " —

" I am very apt to believe that the word and Scriptures of God
doe conteyne a short upoluposis,OT platforme, not onely of theology,

> Winthrop, i. 135.

ITii Till;; PURITAN AGE.

liul :ilso of Other sacrod scieiiocs, attendants, and hand maids there-
unto, ^ cthicks, a'cononiics, polities, church-f;overnmi!ut, propliecy,
academy. It is very suitaliic to God's ull-sullicient wisdom, and to
llie fulness and piTdctioii of Holy .Scriptures, not oidy to prescribe
perfect rules for the ri;,'lit ordering' of a private man's soule, but
also for the ri;;lit onleriii;; of a man's famdy, yea, of tiie common-
wealth loo. W'lieii a cdniinonweahh hath liberty to mould his
owne frame, I conceyve the Scripture hath given full direction for
the rij,dit ordering of the same. Demoercracy I do not conceyve
that ever God did ordeyne as a fitt government evther for church
or commonwealth. If the people be governors, who shall be gov-
erned? As for monarchy and aristocracy, they are both of them
clearly approved and directed in Scri{)ture, yet so as referrelh
the soveraigntie to liimselfe and setteth up Theocracy in both
as the best forme of government in the commonwealth as well as
in the church." ^

In ''An Introductory Essay" to an edition of Wood's New
England's Prospect (Boston, 1TG4), the writer says: —

" The first plan of the government established a kind of The-
ocracy bv making (he Word (jfGod the law. This gave the clergv
infinite weight in the constitution ; they were naturally the exposi-
trirs of the law, and in so young a country were almost the only
men of learning. From this circumsUince the attachment and def-
erence to their cloth was almost implicit : and for aught I know, to
this very cause may the greatest errors into whicli the country fell
in its first settlement be ascribed."

The qualification to which this intimation of the prevail-
ing power of the clergy and of their main responsibility
for the errors of government must be subjected, will be
stated fiirthiT on in tlicse pages.

In a contention ^yhich arose in iri4r) between the magis-
trates and the detmties, as to the powers of the former by
tiie Giiarter and by election to act in the vacancy of the
General Court, certain questions were submitted to the

* Ilulcliiiisoii'a Histnr)' of Ma.*;8achusrtts, vol. i. Appendix iii.

THE BIBLICAL COMMONWEALTU. 177

elders as arbitrators. One of the questions was whether
the magistrates " in cases where tiiere is noe particular ex-
presse laws provided, were to be guided by the word of
God till the geuerall courte give particular rules in such
cases " ? To this the elders, with caution and yet decision,
made answer : —

" "NVee (Jo not find that by the pattent they are expressly directed
to proceed according to the word of God, but we understand that
by a law or libertie of the country they may act in cases where-
in as 3'et there is no expresse law, soe that in such act;; they
proceed according to the word of God." '

In this paper of the elders Scripture te.\ts arc quoted
to justify variable penalties for variable grades uf guilt, as
in murder, and also to warrant magistrates in mitigating
the penalty to a delinquent who had previously done good
service to the State : " So Solomon mitigated the pun-
ishment of Abiathar for his service dune to his father
formerly." -

More to the jioint of the purpose and intent of the gov-
ernment of ilassarhusetts to establi-sh a tlieocracy than
would be distinct and repeated assertions of sucli a pur-
pose, is the fact to be traced in their statutes and court
proceedings and in the j)enalties inflicted for various of-
fences, tiiat they invariably followed the rule and lead of
the Scriptures. Their delay in forming a code of their
own was submitted to by the assumption tliat tiie Bible
would serve tiicm in all serious matters. IIow did they
fashion to themselves tiieir idea of a theuciacy ?

Those who believe in One Su[)reme Being as the Creator,
Disposer, and Ruler of all things, as a coiisei|uence believe
that the government of this and of all worlds is a the-
ocracy. Its laws, physical and moral, its methods, opera-
tions, results, and destined issues are all under God's

' Hutcliinson's Collection of I'apiTs, pp. 179, 180.
2 1 Kings ii. 26, 27.

12

178 THE PURITAN AGE.

appointment and adn)iiiistration. So far as any faculties
wliicli we [lossess qualify u.s for recofrnizing and under-
standing; tliose laws and methods, they are to be inferred
by us from observation and experience. The character,
attributes, and jiurposes of (Jod would then have to be
indicated and deduced from wiiat tiiat (jbservation and
experience as the actual methods ol his government as-
sure to us. From what we could thus learn to be his will
we might infer our own duty, either as his subjects or his
children.

JQere we have opened to us the vast theme of natural
religion, launching us upim the boundless ocean of all
perjilexities and mysteries. The limitations of the subject
proposed for treatment in these pages preclude anything
beyond the mere statement of the two widely diverse direc-
tions into which natural religion has led the thoughts, the
imaginations, and the conclusions of men. One of these
is sufiiciently defined under the general term of heathen-
ism ; the other has the nobler title of philosophy. Both
of them imf)ly that man is left to himself in thought, in-
quiry, and search. lie sees and he thinks, he imagines
and he reasons, lie liecomes abject or bold, in view of
his attitude before the Unknown, and according to the con-
clusions in which he rests. Of the follies and superstitions
of heathenism, the barbarities and atrocities wliich have
dehumanized its votaries, we need not simply to turn to
history for our knowledge, for the survivals of it are hide-
ous. Philosojihy has a brighter, if still an unsatisfactory
record ; and of recent years science has come in as an aid
and guide in dealing witii the vast problems which engage
men's niiiuls. Cicero uttered the trutli, which needs no
argument to supfiort it, (hat if man is to receive any helfi
beyond his own observation and experience in interpreting
the ways of C!od, it must be furnished directly by God
himself.

The theocracy which is the subject of our present studv

THE BIBLICAL COMMONWEALTH. 179

was one founded on the belief tliat God had disclosed him-
self, had put himself into direct communication with men,
prompting them and instructing them to set up a theocracy
among themselves, — a commonwealth to be administered
for and by God.

And what if man should not thus be left to his own
resources of experience and observation, of inquiry and
speculation as to a knowledge of God, his character, will,
and purposes? It is supposable that, cither according to
design in original purpose, as needful to complement the
resources of human nature, or in pity for its gropings and
failures, God may disclose himself, put himself into com-
munication with men " at sundry times ami in divers
manners." The proof, the assurance that he had done so
would be satisfactory if it secured thurough cunvictidu of
its reality in the breasts of human beings, — }irom[)ting,
invigorating, and enlightening them. Two methods are
conceivable for this divine rcinfon-emeut, assurance, and
enlightenment of men. One is by some startling phe-
nomena or marvels, out of the ordinary course of Nature,
engaging the senses and quickening the reverence of men,
bidding tiiera heed, wonder, and respond. The other
method is by the illumination of man's inner powers by
motions and inspirations, impulses and assurances whicli
would leave the impress of divine messages. These, when
received by men, would bear repetition, — the transfer from
the mind and conscience of the receiver to other minds
and consciences. They might be written, and so stand for
revelations.

Tiie self-disclosure of God to men by the method called
revelation offers themes for curious questioning and dis-
cussion, more direct and positive in their materials and
means, but not one whit less perplexing, than those of
natural religion. These, however, are not to our present
purpose ; for we are to deal with the form of government
of a commonwealth established and administered by those

180 THE PURITAN AGR

who heartily and dovoiilly bi'liuved tliat God had revealed
his counsels and will t(j them S(j us to furnish them stat-
utes and ordinances enabling them to act in co-ojieration
with liini.

Revelation, as they acce[ited it, invcjlved two processes :
1. The disclosure of himself by (iod to some chosen by
him for such intercourse, in two ways, — one by startling
])henomena throuj^h theii- senses, out of course with Nature,
encragcing their awe and reverence; the otluT liy inward
monitions and exercises, promjitings and insjiirations, im-
fielling influences, which should be to them as voices,
assurances, and messages. Men thus I>ivinely illuminated
Would need, first, to be self-convinced of the reality and
Divine source of these communications, and then to be
qualified to satisfy others that God had been in converse
with them. 2. The record of these facts and communica-
tions would then constitute "a book revelation,'' inspired
Scriptures, the Word of God.

The modern spirit of criticism, speculation, and ration-
alism comes into the sharjiest collision with the faitli
which guided the convictions of tlie founders of the Jlassa-
chusctts theocracy. In view of the tender and devout
beliefs which have so long in tradition and enshrined
afTection accepted the Bible as revealing the Divine will
and purposes to those favored witli the knowledge of it,
we may well recognize the fact that our object here is not
to discuss the grounds of those beliefs, but simply to study
the proceedings of a company of men who lirmly held
them and acted b\- them. We know with what a full,
intense, and uni|uestioning conl'idence they held a "book
revelation." In order that we may appi'eciate their be-
lief, we may fairly ask what were the origin and grounds
of it, — not, however, as we would follow the question if
we were ])ursuing it for ourselves, but simi)ly ns tracing
the attitude of their minds toward it. The religious litera-
ture of the I'uritan age was in many of its distinctive

THE BIBLICAL COMMONWEALTH. 181

qualities quite unlike that of our time, and in no one
quality more than this, — that it did not deal with argu-
ments, defences, and evidences addressed to unbelievers
or rationalists, but took faith for granted, and sought for
edification.

What were the methods and assurances by which God
made these disclosures to men, as they were read and ac-
cepted by believers in a book revelation ? How out of
the silence and from behind the veils of Nature, from tlic
mystery of the unseen and supernal, came intelligible re-
vcalings to sense and spirit to those whom God chose to
receive his illuminations, his promptings, his messages, his
defined and positive commands? We read of tiieojihanies,
— visible appearances or symbolisms of God. Wo read of
signs, ordinary or startling, which waited for an inter[ire-
tation. We read of actual tests to which (bid was sult-
jected to confirm a halting belief. Some of these may
appear to us trivial and puerile in the narration. Others
of them arc sublime and august in method and effect. In
the afllucnce of Oriental idea and imagery they fi.x our
deepest impressions. When men assume " to speak for
God,"' the risks which they run must find a safeguard only
in the fitness and adequacy of the utterance.

How do these rexcalings i)resent themselves on the
record ? Thev are rich in variety, and winning in their
simplicity. In recent years the ethnic religions have
been the subjects of comparative study, with the materials
for setting their divine elements by the side of those of
the Ciiile. The Bible tells us that the first representative
of our race had direct personal intercourse with <!od,
whicJi by disobedience he forfeited for himself and his
])0.sterity. The eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the
Ilebiews, which rehearses tlie champions of faith and the
witnesses for God, may stand for all time and for all read-
ers as the grandest of the roles of heroism. Noah was
" warned of God," and the nature of the inward warning

182 THE PURITAN AOE.

may bo inferred from the course whicli he followed.
Aliram's call was cei'tified in liis self-exile and obedience.
It would be dilTicuU to iiiatch in any imagery of simplicity
and beauty the dream of Jacob, when it was disclosed to
him that (!od was in that i)laee, and he had not known it,
but had come to know it. Moses asked, first, for full as-
surance that God talked with him, and then for means of
conyincinp liis people of it. He became, save in moments
of despondency, assured for himself, and he impressed the
conviction — faltering and inconstant indeed — upon them.
There is a charming and childlike simplicity in the tests or
feats to which Gideon is represented as subjecting God to
assure his own halting belief that lie was chosen to wield
"the sword of the Lord" against his enemies.' Gideon,
first, proposed to leave his " fleece of wool " e.xfiosed.
and if it should be moistened with dew while the earth
around was dry, then he should know that God had made
him his champion. The result was satisfactory. But to
make assurance douljly sure, Gideon thought he should be
safer in proposing a reversal of the experiment. He would
again expose the fleece, asking that it should be kept dry
while the dew moistened all the ground. In this also he
was gratified. This is puerile; but offset it with a Scrip-
ture passaue which we may challenge the whole literature
of the world to match for aucrust sublimity and the tcn-
derest grace of simplicity. It is a passage which brings
together the infinite remoteness of God and his intimate
nearness. "Thus saith the high and lofty One that in-
habiteth eternity, whose name is Holy : 1 dwell in the high
and holy jilace, with him also that is of a contrite and
humlde spirit."'^ It is not in place here to present in fur-
tlier details exam|iles of the two methods by which Hiyine
communications were believed to be made and certified, —
that is, by marvels, portents, visions, and miracles, and
iiy inspirations and inner illuminations. The Puritans

' .Iudgi'3 vi. 37-40. 2 Isaiali Ivii, 15.

THE BIBLICAL COMMONWEALTH. 183

received the sacred volume, as thus divinely attested to
them, as revealing the will of God, — as the "Word of
God." Why should it not furnish them not only the rule
for their individual life, but also the statute-liook for civil
administration for themselves and for their rule to he
exercised over others ?

We have here intimated the radical and fatal difiiculty
which the leaders in the planting of this State had pre-
pared for themselves in the inception of a Biblical com-
monwealth. While their own recognition of it was sincere,
and their loyalty to it was earnest, its autiiority over others
was arbitrary, and required constraint to enforce it. It is
a bold and hazardous assumption for a b(jdy of men, how-
ever noble, devout, and even wise they may l)e, to regard
themselves as representing God to their iVlldW-meu in
magistracy and authority. In the class called by the in-
clusive title of " reformers," — the grander minds and the
finer spirits, enlightened and quickened beyond all others
of their age, protesters against error and wrong, seers of
emancipating and liberalizing visions, martyrs in noble
heroism, — latently, consciously, or avowedly lives the
conviction that they rejiresent God, his truth and will, to
men, and that they are interjireting and apjilying them as
his agents. There have been those — the elect of our race
— whose visions were realities, and whose prophecies were
fulfilled. But reformers, as a class, as viewed by conserva-
tives, have been generally regarded as mingling their own
inspirations with those from a higher source. Claiming to
speak and work for God, they seem at times to be impa-
tient of the slow [)roccsses and delays by which, as the
seed grows to fruitage, what they regard as the purposes
of God are matured. So to the patient conservative, who
says that time will effect all wise and healthful changes
gradually, the reformers seem, so to speak, as if they were
Imrrying God. Certainly the Magistrates of the Massa-
chusetts theocracy presented themselves in that character

184 THE PURITAN AGE.

when thoy attrm[ited to make for others a rule from what
by their own iutiTpretatioii and faitli they regarded as a
Divine uietliod for adniinistering a commonwealth. Not
all whom they governed held their belief about the Scrip-
tures. Even writers of Scripture have said many things
for (Jod which an intelligent reverence refuses to receive
as divine. Deeds have been ciiarged to his prompting
which bear all the marks of having been instigated by the
malevolence, the jiassions, or the delusions (jf men. It is
to be noted that in no ]iublic or private records of the time
do we find a trace of any opening or discussion of the
question between the Puritan authorities and those who
smarted under their discijiline, cither of the rightfulness
and wisdom of the attempt to govern a commonwealth by
the Bible, or of the competency of the authorities to use
the Book discreetly in their legislation. We liavc to rest
in the admission that this ideal of a commonwealth was
entitled in its turn to have a trial, and then to study its
workings and results.

Let us select from the abounding variety of tlie matter
in our hands some illustrations of the tise of Scripture
ma<le by these I'ible legislators. It being at once appre-
hended that the " Statutes and Ordinances of Israel " could
not be adopted in their completeness as a whole, the first
rule was to lie found in distinguishing among them and
selecting such as were of general and jiermanent authority.
They were divided very readily into three classes, — judi-
cial, moral, and ceremonial. The last was ti> be dispensed
witli ; the former two were to be retained, with adajitations,
if such were needeij. The "magistrate" in these matters,
rather than the elder, was the " minister of f!od."' and it
was for him to assume authority as such. It was agreed
that the Ten Commandments were for perpetual and uni-
versal observance. Hut here was found the first rock on
which the State-Church struck. Tiie Ct)miuandments were
divided into "T\v(i Tallies," — the first four covering one;

THE BIBLICAL COMMONWEALTH. 185

the other six the other. The first table concerns the duties
which man owes to God, as those of religion, — namely,
reverence, worship, tlie nse of oaths, and the observance of
the Sabbath. The second table covers the duties which
men owe to men. The magistrate, as tJie minister of (xod,
claimed that his jurisdiction covered both tables. Roger
Williams, as we shall see, took his firm stand, which he
resolutely maintained, upon his bold denial of the jurisdic-
tion of the magi.strate — the civil power — over the matters
of the first table. In plainer terms, that able and far-
sighted prophet of soul-freedom forbade the State to a.s-
sume any legislation or administration of religion. This
was the first, indeed, the fatal blow dealt the Massachusetts
theocracy. But the magistrates, with adroit ingenuity,
had a wav of parrying the blow. We shall note in the
trial of Mrs. Hutchinson that (iovernor Winthmp charged
her directly with a breach of the Fifth Commandment, —
"Honour thy father and thy motlier." She might well
have been astounded by this charge had she not known
what the Fifth Commandment covered for Puritan legisla-
tion. To the question in the Westminster standard, " Wlio
are meant by father and mother ? '" we have the answer :

" Bv father and mother, in the Fiftli Cominainlmenl, arc meant
not onlv natural parents, but all supcriours in Age and Gifts, and
especially surh as bv God's ordinance are over us in place of
Authority, whether in Family, Church, or Commonwealth."

Nor were Seriitture citations lacking tn sustain this
position. An effective argunirnt was fmuid in supiiort of
the authority of the civil magistrate in the province of re-
ligion, in the example of "Josiah the Supreme Governour
of the true Church in Judah and Israel, who took away all
the abominations out of all the Countries that appertained
to the children of Israel, and compelled all that were found
in Israel to serve the Lord their God." '

1 2 Chron. xxxiv. 33.

IHG THE POKITAN AGE.

The Scripture called " Solomon's Song " or " the Can-
ticles " is not in our times regarded as edifying, either in
the iiul[iit or for private reading ; but for the Puritans it
was a deep and jirecious mine for devotion, as illustrating
"the love of Christ for his bride, the Church." On the
arrival of Mr. Cotton, Wintlirop tells iis there was a meet-
ing of the congregation of Uoston, Saturday evening, Sept. 4,
1G33, in "their ordinary exercise ; " —

"Mr. Cotton, being desired to speak to the question (wliich
was of the church), he showed out of the Canticles, C, that some
churches were as queens, some as concubines, some as damsels,
and some as doves," etc'

When the planters at New ITaven proceeded to organize,
they met in a large barn on June 4, 1039. Mr. Davenport
preached from Proverbs i.\. 1 : " Wisdom batli builded her
house; she hath hewn out her seven pillars." His "im-
provement " was that in settling the foundations of Church
and State seven approved brethren should be selected as
pillars. His counsel was followed. Lie also taught " as
fundamental orders," —

" 1. That the Scriptures hold forth a perfect rule for men in
their family, church, and commonwealth affairs. 2. That the
rules of Scripture were to govern the gathering and ordering of
the church, the choice of magistrates and officers, the making and
repeal of laws, the dividing of allotments of inheritance, and all
things of like nature. 3. That all 'free planters ' were to become
such with the resolution and intention to be admitted into church
fi'llowshij) as soon as God should lit them thereunto. 4. That
civil order was tu be such as should conduce to securing the
[lurity and peace of tiic ordinances to tlie free planters and their
posterity."

Mr. Cotton, in answer to a letter of questions put to him
by a friend, justified the praying for a person by name,
from Ephcsiana vi. 19. He adds : —

' Wilithrop, i. no.

THE BIBLICAL COMMONWEALTH. 187

"Carding I take to be unlawful and containing in it a lottery,
at least in the shuffling and cutting and dealing. A lottery also
it is to choose valentines. Dancing (yea though mist) I would not
simply condemn ; for I see two sorts of mist dancings in use with
God's people in the Old Testament, — ^he one religious, Ex. xv.
20, 21 ; the other civil, tending to the praise of conquerors, as
the former of God, 1 Sam. xviii. G, 7. Only lascivious dancing
to wanton ditties and in amorous gestures and wanton dalliances,
especially after great feasts, I would bear witness against as a
great flabella libidinis.'' ^

When that black sheep of the covenant, Captain Under-
hill, — mildly dealt with for grross immorality by the out-
raged Church because of his military prowess, — returned
with his laurels from the Pequot war, he was " convented "
for his Antinomianism and for having " set his hand " to
a remonstrance offensive to the Court. lie defended him-
self by quoting the case of Joab in his remonstrance, and
insisting that military officers were by all states allowed
free speech. lie himself wlirn in service in the Low Coun-
tries " had spoken his mind to Count Nassau." But liis plea
failed.2 The Court carefully studied the Scripture citation,
as lawyers now refer to decisions and precedents.

Mr. Cotton, expounding of the defection of the ten tribes
from Rehoboam, and the prophet's prohiljition of war, —

"Proved from that in Numbers xxvii. 21 that the rulers of the
people should consult with the ministers of tlie churclies u|ion oc-
casion of any war to be undertaken, and any other weighty busi-
ness, though the case should seem never so clear, as David in
the case of Ziglag, and tlie Israelites in the case of Gibeah." "

The Bible having long been discredited for such uses as
the Puritans made of it in finding parallelisms of occasion
and rule for guiding their own course and administration,

I 2 JIassachusetts Historical Collections, x. 183.
» W'inthrop, i. 247.
• Winthrop, L 237.

188 THE PURITAN AGE.

niodrrn readers, not so fainiliur with tlie volume as they
were, would be imiiatient of any extended illustrations of
the matter now helorc us.

When a {)ressing need was fe'lt for erecting a new hall
for the College in 1G77, the Court made an appeal for col-
lections to the ministers and elders of several towns. The
argument relied ujjon was by a citati(jii of .Scri[)ture : —

"Wee shall only desire you to consider that Scripture, 1 Chron.
xxix., especially from verses ] 0 to 17, wherein David and the peo-
pK' of Israeli gave liberally unto a pood workt, praysing God that
he had given them hearts to ofTer so willinglv, acknowledging
that all their substance came from God, and that of his owne
they had given hina." '

These illustrations of the readiness and confidence with
which LScripture precedents and examples were adduced,
as well in the court-room as in the place of jmblic wor-
ship,— indeed, one building served for many years for both
uses, — are selected as they present themselves on inci-
dental occasions. It will at once suggest itself to us that
this ready and offhand reference to the Holy Book as-
sumes, as well it might, a perfect familiarity with its eon-
tents. The Scriptures were put to a very exacting test
when incidents in far-off time in Oriental lands, and human
personalities living under such difleriMit conditions and ex-
periences, were used to furnish precedents and cxamjiles in
a new world and in a modern century.

Many writers upon early Massachusetts history have —
perhaps naturally, but none the less erroneously — assumed
that as the government was theocratical, the influence of
tlie clergy in its administration was supreme. So we have
been made familiar with sharp and censorious accusations
against "■ the ciders " as really the prime movers and agents
in bigoted legislation, the teachers of intolerance, and the
instigators of [lersecution against those wlio challenged or

' Kccorjs, V. 141.

THE BIBLICAL COMMONWEALTH. 189

opposed their dictation and autiiority. These assumptions
and charges are subject to very serious qualifications. In
the sweep and positivcness of statement and censure with
whicli they liave often been uttered, they arc simply untrue.
A careful study of the Colony Records and other early
ori!i;inal materials will rectify the errors in them. The
elders and the civil magistrates were alike concerned in
and responsible for, and were of one mind in administering,
the theocratieal government. Dudley, Endicott, and Bel-
lingliam needed no prompting in severity from the elders.
What was peculiar, official, or personal in the influence of
the elders will soon be set fortli from the Records. Wiiat
is to be said for the pui-pose of eorrceting over-statements
on this point may well be introduced by a reference to a
very significant fact, which those who have tlius assigned
to the early clergy of Massacliusetts so supreme an inliu-
ence appear to have overlooked.

The most potent and effective of all the changes wrought
by the Reformation was in striking at and breaking tlio
sway of the f)ricsthood, and in securing for laymen a siiare
ia everything that concerned ecclesiastical affairs and re-
ligious institutions and disci])line. The more radical and
tliorough the Reformation was, — the more tlie Protestant
element prevailed at any time and in any {)lace, — we find
the assertion of the claims and influence of laymen against
tiie clergy, or in connection with them, more and more
resolute and secure. This characteristic feature of all
Protestantism became most pronounced in that form of it
called Puritanism. Under tlie Roman, or Papal, ("lunch
laymen were but ciphers or puppets in the hands of the
priesthood. Substantially they arc! so still in that com-
munion. They are not recognized in any council, they
have no share in discipline, except to submit to it, no trea-
sury reports of the Church are made to or audited by them,
and they are simply the sheep of the fold of which tlie
priests are the shepherds. The Reformation broke this

190 THE PURITAN AGE.

exclusive sway and pierDf^ative of clericalism and brought
tlie laitv forward. It was by tiie lielj) of civil jiotentates
tliat Luther secured a liearinif, and indeed liis own life
and 0|i|iortuuity, and |ire[iared the way for his sufi[iortcrs
and successors to grai)|jle witii the jiowers of the hierar-
chy. In the English Church, with a layman for its new
jiead and Parliament for its legislative court, tiic absolute
rule of sacerdotalism was crushed. And the Protestant
Kpiseopal communion in the United States carries the
agency of laymen one degree further than in the mother
Church liy giving them a place on all committees, in all
conventions, and in all legislation.

It would have been a most extraordinary exception to
the working of this radical method of Protestantism if the
magistrates and freemen of early Massachusetts had put
themselves under the dictation and rule of their •• elders."
The enter[)rise and scheme of colonization were inspired by
laymen, and their ministers were called in to be their ad-
visers and helpers. From first to last this was the relation
here between those two classes of men. The ministers were
not functionaries, men " in orders." with an (jtheial charac-
ter and sanctity, standing qualified to occupy and serve at
fiulpit or altar as there might be a place for them. They
were chosen and put in office by the people of each congre-
gation, and were dependent njion them for maintenance.
In every case their influence was graduated by weight of
character, by the (lualities of their manhood, their learning
and abilities. It was a grave question ann)ng the Puritans
whether a minister could otliciate in the ordinances to anv
other congregation than the one he had been called to serve.
By the Congregational rule the teaclier or ]iastor was sim-
jily one (if the brethren in his own flock, and such only
tliere. In all chunli discipline he was subordinate to the
congregation. A lay lirotln^r or " messenger " was alwavs
sent witli an elder to a council.

When .lohn Cotton arrived in l(i33 and was instituti'd

THE BIBLICAL COMMONWEALTH. 191

as "teacher" in the churcli of Boston, he brought with
him a child born on the passage. Thougli Cotton, undtT
Episcopal ordination, had served as a vicar for a score
of years, he explained why his child had not as yet been
baptized : —

" It was not for want of fresh water ; for he held sea water
would have served, — but (1) because they had no settled eoii-
gregation there ; (2) because a minister hath no power to give
the seals but in his own congregation." '

That the masters should have put tiiemselves under the
dictation of their own servants, and that the Puritan laity
should have succumbed to the elders, would certainly have
been inexplicable had it been true. Those who have tlius
apprehended and misrepresented the facts have been mis-
led by not allowing for the perfect .sympathy and accord in
spirit, judgment, and purjiose between the magistrates and
the ministers. Elder Norton, who has suffered the severest
castigation for his harsh bigotry, had ids full compeers in
Dudley, Endicott, and Bellingham. The two earliest suf-
ferers by the discipline of the Court wore themselves el-
ders,— Roger Williams and John Wheelwright, — and no
prestige of office drew to them help from their brethren.

Even the revered Cotton but narrowly escaped that dis-
cipline. Hooker removed with his flock from Cambridge
to Connecticut because he felt himself overshadowed. We
find mahv entries on the Court records in which the au-
thorities rallied respect and supj)ort for the clergy. Nor
are there lacking evidences on those records that the
elders were sometimes reminded that on some subjects
tliey should withhold the utterance of tiieir ojjinions till
asked for them, and that while their advice was valued,
dictation did not become them. Cotton diil not arrive till
two years after tlie franchise had been restricted to church
members ; so he was not responsible for that. Soon after

» Winthrop, i. 110. •

192 THE PURITAN AGE.

lio came hu found sfiine (Jivisioii and contention existing as
to tlie jiowers of deputies and magistrates, and that the
honored Wiutlirop was under a cloud as arbitrary in his
government. Some of the [jcople thought it was lime for
a eliangc of go\ernor. Cotton ventured to interfere with
his ad\ ice in a sermon, teacliing that only misconduct in
oflice would justify dropping sucli a faithful Governor as
Winthro|j; liut none the less he was disjdaced by Dudley.
The Apostle Eliot comjilained in a sermon that the magis-
trates had made a jieaee with the Petpiol Indians in ltJ34
witliout consulting the people. Three elders went sent to
''deal" with him, to bring him "to acknowledge his error,"
which he did publicly.' Winthroji was challenged by the
elders for having sent some pajiers concerning some action
of the Court in a controversy, to be published in England.
He reminded them that in its own province the Church
was subordinate to tlie civil power.^

There is no denying tlie fact that the influence of the
clergy was very great, tliough not sujireme. This, how-
ever, did not constitute the theocratic character of the
government which attached to it, as has been said, Ijccause
its statutes were those of fiod, making the civil magis-
trate his minister. The elders liad iiilhience because of
their accord with the magistrates. Had there been collision
between them, the latter would have prevailed. The func-
tion of the elders, whether in civil or ecclesiastical affairs,
was simjily explanatory and advisory. They wei-e con-
sulted on slight as well as on serious questions. But their
weight of consci|ueuce alwa\s depended on one condition,
namely, their " opening the rule of (iod"s AVord " and sus-
taining advice or o]iinii)n bv one or more " Scrijitures ; "
that is, by a text. The magistrale, feeling himself charged
'' to take care for the things of (Jod," had clerical func-
tions of his own. Of course, he acknowledged hiinself as
amenable to church (lisci|]line in his covt-nanted relations,

' Wnitlirop, i. 151. = Il.iJ., i. 2.19.

THE BIBLICAL COMMONWEALTH. 193

but liis oath of office as a magistrate conferred upon him
his functions in the theocracy.

We may now trace briefly, from Winthrop and the Rec-
ords, how the ciders came to iiavc influence in civil affairs,
and the quality and effect of their influence.

Feb. 27, 1032, the Court having levied a tax on Water-
town, the pastor and elder of the church advised the
people to resist it ; but their advice was overruled, and
the tax was paid. In July, 1632, "the congregation at
Boston " wrote to the elders and brethren of the churches
of Plymouth, Salem, etc., for their advice, — " Whether
one person might be a civil magistrate and a ruling elder
at the same time?" It was unanimously decided in the
negative.^ In the autumn of tliat year a personal differ-
ence between the Governor and the I>e[aity, Dudley,
was "ended" by the mediation of tlie elders.^ February,
1633, three of the elders, with the fJovcrnor and four mag-
istrates, went to Nantasket to confer as to tJic buihJing of
a fort.^ Sept. 27, 1633, the Governor and assistants called
all the elders to consider where John Cotton should settle.''
Jan. 7, 1634, the Governor and magistrates asked for the
views of the elders on tlie denial by Roger Williams of the
\alidity of their Patent.'' July 19, 1634, elders and magis-
trates of Massachusetts and Plymouth confer as to rip-hts
of trade at Kennebec.'' The next month "diverse of the
ministers" take part in the iliscnssion about the f((it on
Castle Island.' In February, 1635, the elders were sum-
moned to advise tlie magistrates as to wh.at should be done
under tlie apprehension lest a " General (lovernor" should
1)6 sent over to the Colonies. The advice, founded on their
Patent, was that he should not ije received.* In each and
all of the successive cases that are to come before us, in
which the Court inflicted its discipline and its penalties

> Winthrop, i. 81. ^ Ibid., i. Sii. » Ibid., i. 99.

* Ihid., i. 112. » Ibid., i. 122. « Ibid., i. 136.

' Ibid., i. 137. * Ibid., i. 154.

• 18

1'J4 THE PURITAN AGE.

upon iridiviiluals or companies regarded as ofTenders, we
sliall iiii'ct with the cldfrs in the same capacity, never as
initiatinir nieusures, but simply as consulted for opinions
or advice.

S[)ccial reference should be made to wliat the Records
contain about the position of the elders in the preparation
of the laws of the Colony. The Charter gave tlic Company
authority —

" To mukc laws and ordinances for the good and wclfarr- of the
said Company, and for the government and ordering of the said
lands and plantation, and the people inhabiting and to inhabit the
same, as to them from time to time shall be thought meete. So
as such lawes and ordinances l)e not contrary or repugnant to the
laws and statutes of this our realme of England."

This exercise of legislative powers under novel and exi-
gent circumstances proved to be a task which required
the utmost abilities, judgment, and prescience of men
none of whom had the special professional training for the
work. Precedents in many important matters were wholly
wanting. The composition of the constituency, intended
to be homogeneous, became rapidly heterogeneous. The
original membcrsliip of the Company was strictly of pro-
prietors, stockholders, whose rights and interests were
first to be protected. All others among them were their
servants, subordinates, or dependents. All whom they
should admit as new meml)ers, '"freemen," holding the
franchise, would have votes affecting the proprietary
rights of the original stockholders, who had transferred
their estates from the Old World to the wilderness. The
risks of dissinsioii woidd be imminent, and the conse-
(jiirnces of it would be disastrous. Their code of laws, when
perfected, always excepting those of a theocratieal char-
acter, was substantially conformed to natural justice and
liumanity, with fewer ca|)ital offences than the code of
England. Indeed, as a reader goes over their records lie

THE BIBLICAL COMMONWEALTH. 195

will hardlj' fail to be impressed by the considcratcness —
we maj' even say the tenderness — often ai>parcnt in tlic
treatment of the unfortunate, the infirm, the ignorant, tlic
penitent, the widow and the orphan, and the victims of
calamity. Severity there is, enoujrli of it, but often tem-
pered with mercy. Sedition and heresy were the especial
dread of the magistracy, and any contempt or defiance of
tlicir authority was treated with a resoluteness which looks
like vengefulness ; but there was a long delay and many
tentative efforts in this work of legislation. Nor was it
strange that this delay should have provoked restlessness
and discontent and murmuring among the peojile. It
seemed for a time as if the rule was to be arbitrary, de-
pending upon the judgment and will, as each case arose,
of the magistrates. The first relief was found in a liody
of deputies, having the negative power, made uji of repre-
sentatives of the freemen in the towns. Wc find under
date of March, 1G34-5, intimations of discontent.' The
Governor, deputy, and two other magistrates, without any
elder, were charged as a committee with the considera-
tion of the subject. In May, ltJ3G,^ the Ctovernor (Vane),
the deputy, three magistrates, and now for the first time
three elders were intrusted with the work ; but nothing
came of this. We learn from Winthrop'' tiiat Cotton, in
behalf of this committee, had prejjared something called
" Moses his Judicials." Perhaps his friend Vane aided
him in tiiis : but no notice is taken of it in the Court
Records. A manuscript, found in Cotton's study after his
death, was printed in London in 1041, and in a fuller form
in 1655. In the earlier form of them it is said, — " as they
are now established;" but they never were established.*
Each law is supported by te.xts from both Testaments, and
80 not confined to Moses. There are eighteen capital

1 Winthrnp, i. 137, 160. ' Records, i. 174.

» Winthrop, i. 202.

* ThLH code 13 reprinted in 1 Mass. Hist. Coll., v. 173.

196 THK PURITAN AGE.

ofTencps, and six more whi(^li liavo an alternative of death
i^r IjanisliiMciit ; much fewer than by the JMijrUsfi eodc at
that time. The abstract is ratilied iiy tlie Seri|ituie quo-
tation, " The Lord is our Jud^re, the Lord is our Lawpiver,
tlic Lord is our King: he will save us." ' Cotton's object
was "to show tlic complete sufficiency of the Word of God
alone to direct his people in judgment of all causes, both
civil and criminal."

In two lines of his line sonnet on Sir Henry Vane,
Milton says : —

" Both spiritual power and civil, wliat each means,

What severs each, thou hast learneJ, whicli few have done."

No other magistrate tlian Vane had then learned it. Cot-
ton and the other elders certainly had not ; but this docs
not prove that tlie latter were the legislators of the Col-
ony, or its ruling spirit.^ in bigotry and severity.

A singular device toward legislation was proposed by
the Court, March 12, Iti:]^. The order recites: —

" For the well ordering of these plantations now in the begin-
ning thereof, it having bene found by the lillle time of experience
wee huv(! heure had, that the want of written lawcs have put the
Court into many doubts ami mueli trouble in many pcrtieuler
cases, this Court hath therefore ordered that the freemen of everv
towne (or some part thereof chosen by the rest) within this juris-
diction shall assemble together in tlieir several] towncs, and col-
lect the heads of such necessary and fundamental! lawes as mav
bee suUible to the times and places wiiear God by his providem-e
hath cast us," etc.*

These "heads" when roUected were to be sent to the
Governor, and were by him to W hud before the Council,
attended by three elders of eburches, to bo digested into "a
compendious abridgement," and to be laid l)efore the next
General Court for approbation or rejection. Winthrop

' Ibttiuh xxiiii. 22. ' Kecords, i. 222.

TUE BIBLICAL COMMONWEALTH. 197

explains the delay in this matter by offering two reasons
for it, showing why " most of the magistrates and some of
the elders were not very forward" in it. One was a want
of sufheicut experience of tlie nature and disposition of the
people, under the circumstances of the country, they
conceiving that the fittest laws would suggest themselves
as occasions arose pro re nata, as the laws of England and
other iStatcs had grown. The other reason was, that as by
their charter they C(juld make no laws repugnant to those
of England, and nevertheless would be conipcUcd by the
necessity of the case to do so, " to raise up laws by prac-
tice and custom had been no transgression, as in our
church discijiline and in matters uf marriage." So " two
models " were digested and sent to the several towns.'
The Court worked over the models in November, 1039;
and afterward four magistrates and two di'ijiities were
directed to inspect them and send them to the towns for
the consideration of tlie elders and freemen. The result
was a " Breviate of the Liberties," etc., finally digested by
Nathaniel Ward, and voted by tlie Court in 1041 "to stand
in force." ^ Ward, minister of l[iswieh, hail been a min-
ister in England, and previously a student and practitioner
of the common law. The " 15ri-viate " contained a hundred
laws. After the original jiamphlet had long been lost to
bight here, a copy of it accidentally came to light in the
Boston Athenceum.3 The laws were first put in print in
the Colony in 1649. There are twelve capital offences
enforced by Old Testament texts.

From this brief review it appears tliat the elders
were not the prime legislators of the Colony. It would
have been strange if in the Biblical commonwealth, where
Scripture in precedent and authority was to be so closely
followed, they had not been called in as interpreters and

1 Winthrop, i. 323.

^ Records, i. 292, 320, 340, 344, 346, anJ Winthrop, ii. 55.

' It is reprinted in 3 Mass. Hist. Coll., vol. viii., 1843.

l'J8 Tin: PuruTAN age.

advisrrs. It was in tlicir discourses and conferences that
they were to win and exert tlieir influence. As has been
already shown, that influence was as little as possiljle ofh-
cial. They were but brctlircu. It would not br right to
assign to them thi' cliief responsibility for the ghostly rule
of the Colony. Mr. I'yuchon, magistrate of Springfield, a
man of marked ability, liad written and procured to be
printed in England, a work on the " Atonement," esteemed
heretical. On the arrival here of copies the Court took
alarm, dealt by warning with the author, and committed
the book to Mr. Norton, to be answered by him, also for
[irinting in England. But Scripture texts were the weapons
of that conflict. Pynchon consented to some concessions,
not however satisfactory, and his book was burned in the
market-place, as were many other heretical works. A
further reference to this matter will be made in another
connection.

We have thus before us the materials for an intelligent
view of the sort of commonwealth which the founders of
Massachusetts established after a Scriptural model, and
which has received the title of a Theocracy. The term
" Commonwealth," with its synonym of State, was a fa-
vorite one with them, boldly, even vauntingly, as well as
tenderly, used here before it was freely current in England
in Cromwell's time. The King's Commissioners sent here
in lGt35, to reckon with the Colonists, and Andros after-
ward, had a special spite to that word, and demanded its
disuse and expurgation, making it all the more dear to its
citizens here.

The one f)rime, all-essential, and sufficient quality of a
theocracy, adopted as the form of an earthly government,
was that the civil power should be guided in its exercise
i)y nligion and by religious ordinances. The magistrate
came in with his efforts and help, to put into force what
111' regarded as the will and purpose of God. To cfTect this,
nut (jnl\ the magistrate himself but those who put him in

THE BIBUCAL COMMONWEALTH. 199

office and gave him power must be in covenant- witli God
and have exclusive authority. How this critical condition
was sought to be insured we shall sec in the next chapter.
The religious loyalty of the magistrates and their electors
being thus covenanted, there would remain the party out-
side to be governed, — those who were not freemen, who
could not hold nor elect to office. These, however, were
to be brought under the same theocratic rule witli tlie cov-
enanted. How was this to be secured ? It might be hoped
that when the magistrates and their way of rule were set
before the people as representing the sovereign law and
will of God, the people would even more willingly recognize
their obligations by loyal obedience than they would to
any human statutes of government. If it should be found,
as it was found, that numbers of the people would not ac-
cept the magistrates and their rule as representing God
to them, they were to be constrained, if not to obedience
then to compliance. Wliile the covenanted willingly sus-
tained a ministry and waited on worship and ordinances,
the uncovenanted must be compelled to do tlie same by
exactions and penalties for neglect. The rule found its
way into private homes, and even sought to intermeddle
witl) private hearts.

VI.

CnURCH MEMBERSHIP AND THE FRANCHISE.

A Biblical commonwealth must needs have a Biblical
rule and qualification for constituting and admitting mem-
bership or citizcnshiji in it. How was tiiis to be effected ?
While " the Governor and Company of Massachusetts Bay "
was simply a corporation for trade, its members being
joint-stock proprietors, partners in the ownership by shares,
liable to assi'ssments and entitled to dividends, the usual
rules of all such secular and liusiness enterprises were all
that was needed in its administration. Selfish interests
might be trusted, as they would be sure to have sway. Tlie
oflicers and existing members at any time might have re-
gard for integrity of character and pcrhaj)S for desirable
qualities of companionship in the admission of new asso-
ciates, Init would not necessarily or even naturally re-
quire anything of accordance in religious tipinions and
sympathies. But when that mercantile comjiany was to be
transformed to a body for legislating for and administering
a government which was to jjlant a commonwealth in a
wilderness across the seas, the qualifications of member-
ship, of influence ami authority in it, would at once l)ecome
matters of supreme importance.

The Charter gave i<> the Company liberty to admit new
members, called " frcenn'ii " of tiir Company. No method,
conditions, or f|ualilications wer(> prescribed for conferring
tliis privilege. For nil tiiat ajipears, tlie jiroprietors then
constituting tlie cor[ioratiiin might, had they chosen to do

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP AND THE FRANCHISE. 201

SO, have resolved not to culurcrc their minibcr, or have
made any secular conditions of a reasonable character
whicli they approved, requisite in the case. But we have
seen that from the first sugtrcstiou in England of a purpose
fur transferring the patent and government of the Com-
pany to be set up liere, there came into its business meet-
ings the minglings and influence of religious sentiment,
and a reference to religious objects. The two London
ministers who were invited into the meetings to consecrate
them by prayer seem to have been made freemen of tJie
Comjiany for that sole purpose, without possessinir or pur-
chasing any shares in its property. As sdhii as the Com-
pany after its arrival here set up the local guvernment, it
imposed a condition of a very exacting and restrictive char-
acter for the enjoyment of its franchise by new membrrs.
It was original to<.). il iievfr, in its express terms, having
been before recjuired in any ci\il State. 'J'iie condition
was in full organic cunsistciiry with the srlu'nii' nf n
Biblical commonweahh, umi imlrcd was \itaily requisite
to it. We are uninf(jrmed as to any discussions, confer-
ences, or understandings between the leaders of tlic en-
terprise which would enlighten us as to tliiir maturinir
and privately agreeing upon the new condition to lie im-
posed for the enjoyment of the franchise. As we read it
in the record it comes upon us as a complete surprise;
and yet it was of so peculiar and novel a cliaractcr that
we can hardly conceive of its adiqition without some i)ie-
vious confidential concert among the leaders.

At the meeting of tlie Ccneral Court in Boston, May IS,
1631, several orders were passed, as is said, " with full
consent of all the coiiimons then ))reseiit." If this covers
all the orders there set down, llieii all the freemen at that
Court agreed ufion the following: " To tlie end the Ijoily of
the commons may be preserved of honest and good men, it
was likewise ordered and agreed that for time to come iioe
man shalbe admitted to the freedome of this body poUi-

'JII2 THE PURITAN AGE.

ticko but Kuch as arc incmberH of some of the cliurclies
within tlie limits of the same." ' The operation of that
order is prosjicctive, for ajiplicalion in the future. We are
not iiifoiincd as to the number of those already freemen
wlio voted upon it, nor whether all of them were at the
time church members. Jf it is to be inferred that any of
tliem at the time were not in church covenant, and as noth-
int; is said of their beinj;: for that reason disfranclii.scd, then
it is possible that some of them mi<.dit have retained their
privilep:e v\'ithout comiiip; under the order. It is to be otj-
served that though thenceforward no one could become
free of the company without being a church member, it
did not follow that every clmreh member was a freeman.
(,)n the contrary, as we shall learn from a subsequent order
of the Court, it undertook to deal with some church mem-
bers who, for reasons assigned, refused to take their free-
dom. There were at the date of the order four organized
churclies in the jurisdiction ; namely, at Halem, I>orchester,
Boston, and Wutertown, the Boston church liavinp been
previously instituted in Charlestown. It may have been
that some freemen considered their previous relation to
the Church of England as constituting them church mem-
bers; but lienceforward membershii) of a church within the
limits of this jurisdiction was imperative. At a previous
Court, in October, 1630, one hundred and nine persons had
sent in an application to bo made freemen. This being
before the order for church membership had been passed,
such of them as had not been aece[)ted at the time had to
come uniler the new condition, and their names appear in
subseipicnt years as obtaining the franchise. In May, lti34,
it was agreed " tliat none but the (ieneral Court hath power
to chuse and a<lmitt freemen." " At that Court the terms
of " llie OmIIi of a Freeman," as previously written, were
slightly modilied. By this the freeman acknowledged him-
self a subject to the government, and swore " by the greate

' Records, i, 87. ' ll'id., L 117.

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP AND THE FRANCHISE. 203

and dreadfull name of the everlyvcing God," to be true
and faithful to it in obedience and su[)port, with person and
estate, to maintain its liberties and privileges, to plot or
consent to no injuries against it, and to vote by conscience
for tlic " pulilique weale of the body."

As no complete census of the inhabitants was taken in
the Colony, we are at a loss for anything more than an
approximate estimate of the proportion of numbers which
those who were both freemen and church members bore to
the adult males of the Colony. Up to June 2, 1641, the
names of eleven hundred and ninety-two persons are given
as having taken the freeman's oath. Four hundred and
eighty-one more had done so up to May, lt)4'J, and from
that date to 1G60, two hundred and one. Up to ltJ74, si.x
hundred and fifty-three new freemen had been added to
the list, some, however, coming in by a modification of
the previous requisition, to be mentioned further on. The
Court lists thus give to that last date the names of two
thousand five hundred and twenty-seven men, sworn iiitu
citizensliip. As has been intimated, the number of cove-
nanted church meinliers was larger. Steadily onward from
the enactment of this covenant test for th(! franchise to
the close of tlie rigid Puritan rule, the male citizens de-
prived of the full right of citizenship were increasing in
the majority outnumbering tho.se who enjoyed it. Prob-
ably tlie estimate was correct which gave the proportions
between them as of five to one.

Thus was defined and enforced the fundamental, organic
constitution of the Puritan State. The founders must be
admitted to have exercised a keen discernment and a wise
foresight in judging this condition for full citizensliip to be
a prime essential in the sort of commonwealth which tliey
proposed to establish. They adojited it as an axiom that
an orderly, peaceful, and secure government must be
phinted on the foundation of religion. Its laws and stat-
utes were to be those of God, revealed and committed to

204 THE PURITAN AGR.

('Iiristian mfijristi-ales for (uiiiiinistration. These niafris-
(ratcs were tn be jmt in (illice liy electors from the peo[)le.
Those electcirs must l)e under coveiianl in cxereisiiig their
trust. Wo must now study tlie terms of the covenant
wliirh (juahlied them.

A formidable Remonstrance and Petition addressed to
the (leneral Court in 1G4U, by Robert ("hihJ and si.\ others,
com|ihiinin<i; of their exclusion fnim church [)ri\ ilcL'es,
fidin the franciiise, and other fjrievances, wliih,' still bein'_'
taxed, drew forth a vei-y elaborate Declaration from the
Court. In this document a jiarallelism is instituted be-
tween Mairna Charta and the ciunmon laws of Knp^hind an
the one side, and the " Fundamentalls of the .Massachusetts "
on the other. In the former it afi])eared that the peo[ile
were represented in the Parliament liy their deputies :
" These deputies are chosen for all the people, but not liy
all the people ; but only by certain freehouldeis and free
burtrers, in shires and corporations." In accoi'd witli this
the Court pleads: "Our deputies are chosen for all the
people, but not by all the people, but only by the companie
of freemen, accordiii'jr to our charter." So the acts of Par-
liament '"liind all the jieople, as -well foi-raiLMie as free
liorne ; as well such as ha\e no libertie in the election of
the members of the Court as the fi'cehoulders who choose
them." Parallel with this: "The acts of this trcncrall
court do bind all within this jurisdiction, as well no-freemen
who have no vote in election of the members of the court
as the freemen who doe choose them. Piy the Charter." '

What niiLrht lie the coveted, and what certainly was the
responsible iiriviletro of citizenship by the franchise, as
the thcocratical e()uivaleiit for Ihmul: uiade a freeman of the
Companv, bein!.r thus (■oiuiitioiie<l on cbuicli inembei-ship,
we must inform ourselves clearly u]ion the exactions and
method bv which that relitrious relation was obtained.
What were the terms and requisitions of churci\ nierabcr-

1 llntrliiiison's C.lliTlM.ii ,.f I'lipors. pp. 2n': 204.

CHURCH MEMBERSHir AND THE FKANCUISE. 205

ship, tlie process for securing it, the responsibilities at-
tached to it, and the consequences involved in it ? It is in
what relates to this matter that we liave to recognize the
fundamental, the vital, radical, and most distinguishing
qualities and features of the I3iblical commonwealth. Here
it made its widest and deepest variance with the Roman
and Anglican churches, through which it drew its lineage.
Not even in its rejection of the theories of prelacy, ritual-
istic practices, and the ceremonials and observances of
medievalism, did English dissent alii<e in its forms of
Puritanism and Noncnnformitv come so sharjily into pro-
test, and into an earnest and resolute course of its own, as
in its views and methods of " church membership." In
the English Church, as developed from the Reformation,
as previously in the Roman Church, church mcmbershi|)
was substantially the birthright to whicii the children of
English [larents acceded, by very sinqile processes, to be
followed as a matter of course. Whatever niiglit have
been e.xfiected or desired in each case in uhieh churcli
menil)ership was reached Ijy tlicsc processes, they might or
might not require or imjily any profound heart experience
of religion, as reaching the springs of character and conse-
crating life. Each child was to i)e baptized in its earliest
infancy. And so exigrnt was tlie necessity for this, — con-
sidering what a j)eril for the immortal destiny of the child
was suspended upon it, — that, in an emcrgrncy, the rite
might be validly performed by anybody repeating the Scrip-
ture formula. Then, as the growing child was entering
into the second decade of its years, after rudimentai-y in-
struction in the Creed, the Catechism, and the Conunand-
mcnts, the bishop, by the laying on of hands, and a
lilessing, made it a full member of the Chuich by "con-
firmation." Henceforward it was not only jirivileged but
obliged to partake of the holiest of the sacraments. It
was by these methods — the baptism of unconscious in-
fants, and the qualification of those wlio were in the second

20G THE PURITAN AGE.

(iocatlc of tlipir lives to partake of the Lord's Supper —
tliiit the people of any country of ('liristeii(fom were to
prow into and to perpetuate through their generations tlic
Christian Church. A nation became in this way entitled
to be called Christian, as distinct from heathen.

]ti sharpest variance with this usape, and in profound
disajiproval of it, were the conscientious choice and the
searching tests of I'ui'itaiiisni. Tliis easy, miscellaneous,
uncertified, and iudiscriniinatinp method of constituting a
member of the Church of Christ was to them without war-
rant, reason, or blessing ; indeed, it trespassed within the
borders of sacrilege and imjiiety. The risks to constancy
and fidelity in the Christian discipleship were many and
grievous enough for those wlio had assumed its obligations
after the best )>reliminary disciiiliue of heart and eon-
science. Entered on without these, failure, reproacli, and
condemnation were likely to follow. So the phrase fondly
used by the Puritans, that " tlie Ch'jrch of Christ consisted
of Saints," elected, scaled, and covenanted, one by one, with
liini, and with each other, expressed the stretch of their
divergence from the usage of tlie English Church. They
took nothing for granted as to the Cliristian standing even
of a child born of Christian parents, excejit in expecting
that such parents would "ive their child a Christian nur-
ture. They would not tiajitize a child unless at least one
of its parents was in covenant with a church. The method
approved by them for admitting a new member of eitlier
sex into their church fellowship was as follows : The pas-
tor, conversant with his flock, was to maintain a faithful
o\ersigiit of it, as well of those who merely attended upon
exercises of worshifi, as of tiiose who jiarticijiated in tlic
"ordinances." This oversight was close and inquisitive
in their homes, and was followcil with jirayers and lessons
in the Catechism for children in the schools. The church
and pastor recognized a measure of responsibility to bap-
tized children as having been already initiated or pledged

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP AND THE FRANCHISE. 207

to a membership to be fully claimed or enjoyed when they
should grow to mature years. Those for whom pastor,
teacher, deacons, and the more zealous of the brethren
and sisters were most concerned, were such as, not yet in
covenant, gave evidence " in a godly wali<," in conversation,
habit, and tone of life, of being under sacred exercise of
heart and spirit, with a measure of regenerated experience.
New disciples, then, now, and always, were to offer them-
selves one by one, individually, under conviction of heart,
as did tlie first disciples of Christ, Jew or Gentile. It wns
for each one under such conviction to make it known, (»r
to avow it under appeal or (juestion. Then followed a con-
ference with an ofhcer of the church, with an examination
of heart, conscience, and experience at the stage which it
had reached. If this was satisfactory, the candidate was
'•propounded" before the whole assembled congrcgatiiin
for admission into the select body, — "the Church." The
ordeal at this stage of it was a severe one, for ncighboi's
were free to raise objections, to ask questions looking back
through the life of the candidate for whatever might need
redress or repentance. Our older church records are very
communicative about some subjects, thr ri'hcarsal of which
is not now viewed as edifying. An interval, generally a
month, was allowed to transpire for the full satisfaction of
all parties. Then, again, in full congregation, the candi-
dates at the call of tiie jtastor, rising from their seats, gave
an oral or written relation of their religious ex))crience.'
This might be brief and general, from the modest or the
diftident ; but fulness and detail were preferred by hearers
till they had become wonted to such rehearsals. We can
well appreciate the severity of this ordeal to those of a
tender, delicate, and shrinking purity of spirit, as listeners

' Thh requisition from the candidate wag made and justified by .Scripture
texts, as Matthew iii. 6, xvi. 16-18 ; Acts viii. 37 ; I Peter iii. 15. The
French and the Dutch reformed churches, as olso the English Pre.sbyterinns,
required similar utterances from candidates for fellowship.

208 Tiiro PuniTAN age.

wjiited foi' tlio rcvealinjrs of llic liolii'st [)rivacy. And in
contrast with these were the volubility and confidence of
.some, who knew that they had the most, or seemed to feel
tliat they had the least, for which to re[)ent or he ashamed.
It may he interjiosed here that tiie fourth Congrcpational
Church gathered in Boston, the " Brattle Street," in 1700,
which startled and shocked its elder sisters by its " inno
Nations," that had to be justified and defended, made the
most venturesome and revolutionary of them in dispensinL'
with tliis [inlilie rehearsal of the private relif.nous experi-
ence of candidates ijefore the congregation.

The ordeal being jiassed, the new member was received
into full covenant, henceforward, through conflicts, resolves,
and helps of sympathy, to be one of the elect in privileges
and responsibilities. Nor were the obligations of the mem-
ber afterward merely individual and personal, lie was un-
lier religious bonds to tlie brethren and sisters of the fold.
He came, as the jihrase was, under "the watch and ward of
the church." Liable at any time to be challcntred and re-
buked for backsliding and lukewarmness, he must also take
[lart in the frequent meeting.'? for the discipline of others.

Of members thus covenanted and sealed, — the men
among them, — the Oeneral Court of ^lassachusetts ''by a
general consent "' of members covenanted and uncove-
nanted, present in IGIU, decided that they alone hencefor-
ward should have the franchise for the administration of
all civil affairs. (Governor, magistrates, and the deputies
or representatives of the people in all the towns were to be
" in covenant with one of the churches." Tlie intent was,
" that the body of the commons may be preserved of honest
and good nn'ii." Tlir iiilent was fair, nol)le, and wise. No
State could plant itself on a more righteous or hopeful basis.
Had the ehnrches really Ix'cn composed of " saints," even
though not including exhaustively all of that rare class
in the community, the experiment might have triumphed.
Fifty, forty, thirty, twenty, even ten righteous men might

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP AND THE FRANCHISE. 209

save a city.' The difficulty was in finding them so gifted
in wisdom and policy that they could exercise mastery over
sinners, — wiiich are really more proper, and certainly
more abundant material for a church than are " saints."
But the mctliod which the Court of Massachusetts chose
for realizing its wise and noble intent was wrecked by two
fatal errors. It excluded from the franchise, as not in
covenant, some of the most righteous, exemplary, wise, and
serviceable men ; and it let into the fold some of tlie un-
worthy, the unwise, and the hypocritical. The terms of the
covenant, the doctrinal system on which it was based, and
the character of the " religious exjierience " which it ex-
acted, repelled many whose opinions, convictions, tone of
character, and real religious principles were not accordant
with it. Warnings against f)arting with one's private lib-
erty of tliiuking, and the uttering of honest opinions, ob-
servances, and attendance upon religious meetings had
efTect upon many wlio were half dis[)Osed and half in liesi-
tancy as to entering into covenant (jbligations, when tliey
took note of the close espionage, the jietty internieddlings,
and tiie vexatious discipline to which church memlH'rs sub-
jected eacli other. Tiie obligations of " wati'h and ward "
were bv no means perfunctorily or slackly interpreted and
exercised. The church incurred a solemn responsibility
for each one of its members. Even after a sentence of ex-
communication had been passed against a member, the
duty of reclaiming him and restoring liim by repentance
still held a suspended relation between the parties. When
we have to recognize furtlier on the ecclesiastical as well
as the civil [)rocecding8 against such members of tlie Bos-
ton churcli as were banished with Mrs. Hutchinson, we
might supjiose that the church having cast them out hud
done with them. By no means. One might wish to regard
the act as a lingering tenderness of spirit in those who re-
mained here ; but it was none the less the prompting of

> Gen. xviii. 26-32.
14

210 TIIK PURITAN AGE.

a covenant duty which moved tlie Boston church to send a
eoinniittce to Aqiiidiiec to Hucli as were still held to it by a
suspended tie. It does not aii[)ear i'lom the records that
anv jjenaltv from a civil court, other tiian the loss of the
franchise, was at iirst inflicted upon an (■xcommunicated
jierson ; but the fact that any one liad been so dealt with
would always be at his disadvantage when judicially [iro-
ceeded apainst. As a rule, unless the offence committed
by an excommunicated cliurrh nicnibi'i" had Ijcen of so
heinous a nature as to lead to his being utterly ''cast
out," as if lienccforward to be "yielded over to Satan,"
it was expected that lie would seek restoration by I'epent-
ance and meek solicitation. The terms of forgiveness and
renewed fellowship were often deeply humbling to self-
respect and pride, but otherwise were not over-rigid. Yet
only as it might depiive of citizenship, some excommuni-
cated persons seem to have made light of the penalty, as
if they were glad to tie rid of fetters and annoyances.
80 we find this resolute order u]ion the Court records of
September, 1038 : —

" Whereas it is found, by siid experience, that diverse persons
who have bene justly cast out of some of the churches do pro-
phanely contcrane the same sacred and drcadfiill ordinance, by
presenting themselves overbouidly in other asseaibbes, and speak-
ing lightly of their censures, to the great offence and greefe of
(lad's people, and incuragemcnt of evill minded persons to con-
temne tlie said ordinance, — it is therefore ordered, that whosoever
shall stand excommunicate for the space of 0 months, without la-
boring what in him or her lyeth to liee restored, such person shalhe
presented Ui the Court of Assistants, and there proceeded with
bv line, imprisonment, banishment, or furtiier for their good be-
haviour, UB their contempt and obstinacy upim full hearing shall
deserve."

I?ut in September, 1(539, the Court agreed tliat this order
should l)e repealed.

It ttecame a matter of necessity to define the relations to

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP AND THE FRANCHISE. 211

tlic government and community of such persons as were
residents and liolders of property, hut not freemen or mem-
hers of churches. So the Court in April, 1G34, ordered
that every one ahove tlie age of twenty, after a residence
of six months as a householder or sojourner, on the sum-
mons of the Governor, Deputy, or two Assistants, — for a
tirst refusal to answer to which he should be bound over,
and for a second refusal banished, unless further respited, —
shall take an oath in substance as follows : promising to be
subject in person, family, and estate to the authority, law^,
orders, and sentences of the Government here established,
to advance its peace and welfare, and to warn it of and help
avert from it any peril or hurt with which it is threatened.
The next month the former Freeman's Oath was slightly
modified by another substituted for it, not altering its sub-
stance. And it was " further agreed that none but the
General Court hath power to chu.so and admitt freemen."
In September, 10.35, the exclusive privileges of freemen in
the General Court were extended by the following: "It
was ordered that none but Freemen shall have any vote in
anv town in any action of auetlniritie or necessity, or that
Mhicli belongs to them by virtue of their freedomc, as re-
ceaveiiig inhabitants and layeing out lands." It was liy
virtue of these exclusive rights of freemen as church mem-
bers that these privileged persons acquired among other
prerogatives one which lung afterward caused much liti-
gation in our successive legal tribunals. While the build-
iniT and charges of the house of worship and the salary of
the minister were laid as a tax upon all the inhabitants of
a town, the body of covenanted church members claimed
the right of selecting and instituting the minister. At
least ten freemen were needed for choosing a deputy to the
Court from any town.

The next step in this form of legislation was the asser-
tion of the power of the magistrates over the formation and
tnstitiition of churches. As follows : —

lil'J TIIK I'UItlTAN AflE.

"In (Irncral Court, M:ir. lu'.iC?. Forasmuch as it hutli bcDC
fouiiii 1)V sud i'.\|ifriciic'c that unuli trouhle and disturhaucx- hath
lia|i|icni(l both III the chunh and livill Btatf by the ollictrs and
ini'inbiTK of Konii' churchos which have liene gathered within the
liniitts of tliis jurihdii'tion in an undue ni.inniT, and not with such
jiubliiiue approbation as were nii'ile. it is tlierelore ordered that
all persons are to take notice that this Court doth not, nor will
hereafter a|ipriive of any such conipanyes of men as shall hence-
fiirthe joyne in any pietended way of eliurch fellowshipp, without
thev shall first acquaiute the majjistrates and the elders of the
Ijreater [larte of the churches in this juiisdiction with their inten-
tions, and have their approbation herein. And further, it is or-
dered that Doe person, being a member of any church which shall
hereafter be gathered without the approbation of the magistrates
and the greater parte of the said churches, shalbe admitted to the
frcedome of this commonwealthe."

Two very significant points are to be noted here. First
i.s tlie theocratic element. The franchise having been al-
ready limited tn cliunli members, it was evident tliat as
new towns and settlements were extended, new churches
formed in them might introduce some la.xities, ojiening
membership on ea.sy terms for securing tiie further coveted
rigl>t to the franchise. The magistrates and the existing
clmrches were to set up a guard against this risk, and to
bi' consulted in this case. The other jioint to be noticed is
that we have in this Court order the first intimation of a
ri'strietion upon the jierfcct inde|iendcncy of each cliurcli.
The Scotch Presliylerian Bailey soon made it a reproach to
the New England churches that they were isolated and
discordant units, with no bond of union. So that hence-
forward we trace in our history the initiatory measures
wliiili (liv(doj)ed into the usage of councils of neighboring
churches, called at first for symiiathctie and sisterly reeog-
nitiou, then for advice, then for degrees of dictation and
authority in tiie settlement or dismission of a minister, or

111

a matter of variance.

CHURCH MEMBEESHIP AND THE FRANCHISE. 213

It was not, however, only in holdinc; tlie exclusive privi-
leges of the franchise that church members were favored.
It would have seemed but reasonal)le that they should have
borne the whole charges of sueh provisions and institutions
as existed for their special benefit. This, however, was
far from being the case. In November, 1637, the atten-
tion of the Court was called to the fact that the churches
had different methods for providing for the maintenance of
ministers, and tiiat " some ministers are not so comforta-
bly provided as were fitting." The churches were to in-
quire into this matter and send some to advise with the
Court at its next session " that some order may Ijee taken
hearin according to the rule of the gos[)le." In immediate
connection with tliis entry we find another wiiich throws
light upon it. Tlie freemen of the town of Newbury had,
in May, 11130, been mulcted with a fine of six [icnee apircc
"for chuseing and sending to this Court a deputy which
was noe freeman." Now we find that the inhabitants of
tlie town are indebted to divers {)ersons in the sum of
sixty pounds —

"expended upon publike and needful occations for the benefit
of all such as do or sliall inhabite there, as building of houses for
their mini.'iters ; and wliereas such as are of the church tliere are
not able to beare the whole charije, and the rest of the inhabitants
there do or may enjoy equall benefit thereof witli them, yet they
do. refuse, against all right and justice, to contribute with them,
it is therefore ordL-nd — "

that the major part of the freemen assembled in meeting
siiall have power to levy the amount due upon the estates
of all the property holders, residi'iit or non-resident. This
precedent was w(dl followed by an order of Court in .Sei>-
tembor, 1038 : —

" This Court takeing into consideration the necessity of an
equall contribution to all common charges in townes, and observ-
ing that the chiefe occation of the defect hearein ariseth from

214 TIIH PURITAN AGE.

Iiriirc, tliiit m:inv of those who arc not freemen, uor members of
iiiiv church, do t:ik(^ advantage tlierchy to withdraw help in such
voluntary contributions as arc in use, [the Court declares] that
every inhabitant in any towiie is lyalile to contribute to all charges,
both in church and <-onirnonwi-lth, wln-rof hee doth or may receive
benefit." All who will not voluntarily do this, "for all common
charges, as well for upholding the ordinances in the churches as
otherwise, shalbee compelled thereto by assessment or distress."

It was an inpcnious suf^gcstiun in tliis pencral order, as
in the special one for Newbury, tliat those wiio did not
seek the help of church and ministry were free to do so
if they would. Their not seeking tliat lielp for themselves,
however, did not discharge them from the obligation to
share in the expense of it to those who did. For reasons
the whole force of whicli for that time we may not fully
ap[)rcciatc, there were some — emnigli of them to attract
tiie jealousy of the Court — who, tliougli liaxing the (|uali-
lication of cliurcli mcuibersliip, did not avail themselves
of their right to claim tlie franchise. May 10, 1643,
in the Court, " It is ordered, concerning members that
refuse to take their freedom, the churches sliouUl bee
writ unto, to deale with them." ' Here again we find
the civil power interfering with tlie internal discipline
of the cluiiehes. The justification which would probably
have been oflered for it was, that the State had the right
to the aid in council of every good citizen, especially, of
those who as being under covenant might be expected to
sympathize with its religious administration. The Court
declared itself more fully on this subject in November,
l<i47, thus: —

"There being within this juris<]iction manv menil>ers of churches
who, to exempt tliemselves from all puhlike service in the comm<iii-
wealth, will not come in to b(> ni.ide freemen, it is therefore
ordered by this Courte, and the authority thereof, that all such

' llcoorili. ii 33.

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP AND THE FRANCHISE. 215

members of churches in the several! townes witliin this jurisdiction
shall not be exempted from such publike service as they are chosen
to by the freemen of the severall townes, as cunstables, jurers,
selectmen, and surveyors of high wayes ; and if any person shall
refuse to serve such office, he shall pay for every such refusall,
being legally chosen thereunto, such fine as the towne shall im-
pose, not exceeding twenty shillings, as freemen are liable unto in
such cases.' '

Compulsory attendance upon religious services next en-
gaged the attention of tlie Court in the exercise of its Bible
authority. In November, 1646, we find the following: —

"Forasmuch as in these countryes, where the churches of Christ
are seated, the prosperity of the civill state is much advanced and
blessed of God when the ordinances of true religion and publike
worship of God do find free passage in purity and peace, therefore,
though we do not judge it meete to compel any to enter into the
fellowship of the church, nor force them to partake in tlie ordi-
nances peculiar to the church [as was then compulsory in Eng-
land] which do require volentary subjection thereunto, yet, seeing
the Word is of general and common behoofe to all sorts of people,
as being the ordinary meanes to subdue the harts of hearers not
onely to the faith, and obedience to the Lord Jesus, but also to
civill obedience, and allegiance unto magistracy, and to just and
honest conversation towards all men — "

therefore, attendance u[)on worship on the Lord's Pay, and
on days of fasting and thanksgiving, is required of every
one not incapacitated, on a penalty of a fine of five shil-
lings for each case of absence.^ The penalty exacted in
England at that time for that offence was twelve pence.

The dignity and authority of the ministry were to be
maintained by an order of the same Court. Any one con-
temptuously behaving himself toward the Word fircached,
or to the preacher, interrupting, disputing, or denying,
causing reproach or ridicule for the service or ordinances,

> Records, ii. 208. ' Ibid., u. 177.

21G THE PURITAN AGE.

sIkiH for the first offence be roljiikcd by a magistrate at
a lecture, and bound to {rood bcliavior, —

"and if a scroiui time they lircaki' forlli into the likn contempts
uous carriafjes, either to pay five pounds to the pulilike treasury,
or to stand two houres openly upon a hlock 4 foote Injih, on a
lecture day, with a pa|ier fixed on his hreast, with this, A Wanton

(iospeller, written in caiiilall letU/r.s." '

It was but natural — indeed, bow could it liavo been
otbcrwise? — that the Court, conifiosed exclusively of mem-
bers of churches, and chosen to their civil offices by tlie
same class of electors, should have assumed the oversight
of the rclitrious interests and order of the jurisdiction with
the same sense of responsibility and the same exercise of
authority as in secular affairs. The elders may ha\e in-
ter[iosed more or less in promjitiiiL' the magistrates and
deputies; but the clerical and the civil leaders were of
the same mind and sjiirit. The Court on many occasions
must have been very much like a church mectinc, with its
prayers, its Scripture citations, its phraseology in speeches,
and its subjects of debate. We may trace contiimously
through the Records the yiersuasion on tiie part of the
Court that it sliould take tlie lead in advising and direct-
ing all measures successively foimd to be essential for a
religious commonwealth. Even the original indepeudcncy
of the churches must yield to such a degree of imposed
uniformity as was needed to secure the strength of union.
So, as early as March, lt>3f, —

"This Court doeth intreate of tlie elders and brethren of everv
chureh within this jurisiliotion that tliey will eonsult and advise of
one uniforme ordiT of discipline in the churches agreeahle to the
SrripturcB, and then to consider howe farr the magistrates are
bound to inlerpos<^ for the jireservation of thai uniformity and
peace of the cluirches."^ dune 2, 1041. "It is desired that the

' liecoida, ii. 17U, ' IbiJ., i. 142.

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP AND THE FRANCHISE. 217

elders would make a catachisme for the iustruction of youth in the
grounds of religion."

Cotton's "Milk for Babes " was a response.

It is without surprise that we meet the first recognition
by Winthrop of the presence and expression of a feeling
among those deprived of the civic franchise that the time
had come for a hearing upon tiiuir disabilities. Winthrop
writes in March, 1G44 : —

" A proposition was made this Court for all the English within
the united colonies to enter into a civil agreement for the main-
tenance of religion and our civil lilierties, and for yielding some
more of tlie freeman's privileges to sui'h as were no church mem-
bers that should join in this government. But nothing was con-
cluded, but referred to next Court." '

Those who had — not always jiatiently — waited to put
in their grievances on this score, had yet to wait much
longer before the full rights of citizens were secured to
them, — not then by the free concession of the Court, but
from royal dictation : and even this maudate was at first
80 grudgingly yielded to, that for a time it was ingeniously
circumvented.

It was with very great deliberation, and with a formal
detail of grounds and reasons, that the Court, pursuing its
assumed task of supei'vising the churclies and providing
for tiie interests of uniformity as overriding their inde-
pendency, initiated the jiropositioii of a synod of the
elders and messengers, not only of the churches in its own
jurisdiction, but of the other tliree confederated colonies.
May 6, 1646, wc find the record of the first action of tiie
Court on this subject. A long and carefully-drawn pre-
amble opens it : —

" The right forme of church government and discipline being a
good parte of the kingdome of Christ upon earth, the settling and

* ItiTords, ii. ICO.

'218 THE PURITAN AGE.

establisliinp; thereof by tlie joyiit aii<l publicke agreement and con-
sent of rhurclies, ami by the sanetion of eivill authority, must
needs preatly conduce to the honor and glory of our Lord .Jesus
Christ, and to the settling and safety of church and common-
wealth, when- such a duty is denly attended and performed."

Reference is then made to the quiet state of the jjlanta-
tions here at the time, as favoral)lc to such an object, in
contrast with the distractions tlien convulsing tiie mother
country. Friends at home had written lamenting tlie vari-
ances whicli had arisen in our churclies, and counsellinir
more uniformity. The differences principally concerned
the proper subjects of baptism. The New England cliurciie.s
baptize only a child one or both of whose parents is under
covenant. Some are claiming the ordinance for children
whose grandparents only were church members. There
are persons resident here "who have binn members of the
congregations in England, but are not found fitt to be
receaved at the Lord's table here," while they and some
sympathizers with them think their children entitled to
baptism. More than all, the Baptists are asserting their
conviction that no child is a proper subject of the rite.
The preamble proceeds ; —

" Therefore, for the further healing and preventing of tlie fur-
ther groweth of the said differences, and upon tlic other grounds,
and for the other ends afore-mentioned, and altliouijh this Courte
make no quaestion of their lawfull power by the won] of God to
assemble the churches, or their messengers, upon occasion of coun-
cell for anything which may concernc the practize of the cliurchcs,'
yet because all members of the churches, though godly and faith-
ful!, are not yctt clearcly satisfyed, itt is therefore thought expe-
'lii lit for the present occasioH not lo make use of that power, but
rather hereby declare it to bo the desire of this present Generall
Courte that there be a piihlicke assembly of the elders and other
messengers of the several! churches witliin this jurisdiction, wlio
may come together and meete at Cambridge upon tlie first da}- of

' The Court here osaumcg the prcrogatiTe of Parliament.

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP AND THE FRANCHISE. 219

September now next ensewing, there to discusse, dispute, and
cleare up, by llie word of God, such questions of church govern-
ment and discipline."

The assembly is to continue indefinitely till the major
part at least shall have come to some substantial agree-
ment on the matters proposed. If necessary, there may
be two or more sessions. The result is to be presented to
the General Court for examination and, if possible, appro-
bation. The churches are to meet severally their own
charges. Inasmuch as Massachusetts had three years pre-
viously brought about a civil confederation with its sister
colonies of Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven, their
churches were to be invited to take equal part in the
assembly.^

One can but pause here to recognize the introduction
for the first time on tliis enntinent of one of those church
councils wliich, in long succession, have proved the bane
and scourge of Christendom. Called to promote liarmony
and uniformity, they liave invariably resulted in variance,
discord, and a widening of previous l)reachcs. They pro-
ceed upon the assumption that those who are sufiposed to
share common beliefs and iiurfioses may be moved by
coming together in free discussion to come into accord on
matters upon which they differ. It is furtlier assumed
that these matters of difference arc of secondary import,
and tliat the strength of the bond which holds all to " fun-
damentals " and essentials will prevail in reconciling them
to yield up or subordinate their individualities of diver-
gence ; but these assum{)tions or expectations have always
been baffled. Essentials and non-essentials, fundamentals
and specialties, common beliefs and individualisms, invaii-
ably change places on such occasions. The points on which
a man differs in his belief from his brethren are to him the
matters of primary importance. The things which are not
to be left undone come to signify far more than the things

1 r.rconl.s, iii. 70-73.

220 THE PURITAN AGE.

that arc to be done. The doj-'rce of unity which existed
amoni!; the inenilirrs before they met in Couiieil is always
diminished ratlier than increased by their debates, in which
their differenees come to mean even more to tfjemselves,
and are found to lie more disai-H-eealih' to one anothc'r. The
special element in each man's creed is to him the life of it.
The product of the common peaceful labors of bees is
honey ; but the indi\ iduality of each bee is protected by
his sting.

Among many of the elders and messengers of the New
England churches tiierc was a dread of I'resbytei'ianisni,
then rife in England; Imt a few were supposes] to favor it.
It was well understood before the meeting of the synod
how its work, or results, or advice would be limited by
the principles of Independency and Congregationalism.
Tlierc had been, as Winthrop tells us,' a serious difference
of ojiinion between the magistrates and the deputies as to
the rightful jirovince of the Court in pro]josing a synod, as
the Court might be made responsible f(3r giving force to
its results and conclusions. The magistiates, however,
asserted their responsibility in the case, as coming to them
by "the word of (iod ; '' yet they consented that the svnod
sliould l)c convened "by way of motion only to the churches,
and not by any words of command." AVe look to Win-
throp still for information. But few of the ciders of the
other colonies came to the a|)pointed gathering at Cam-
bridge, and the session, which lasted only fourteen davs,
as the winter was coming on, was unsatisfactorv. The
elder from ('onc(jrd was unable, though willing, to attend.
The church at llingham helil back. Hoston and Salem
chui-ches had objections to being pi'csent. About thirtv or
forty Iloston mcTuliers — some of whom " had come latelv
from ICngland, where such a \asl liberty was allowed " —
c.Kccfited that the churches had a right to meet in synod
without the intervention of the magistrates: that the call

« ' Wintliriiii, ii. 204.

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP AND THE FRANCHISE. 221

was really prompted by the elders, and not by the Court,
and that the Court might enforce the results upon the
churches. The ciders of Boston were mos'ed to attend for
courtesy's sake, though not sent by the church. Norton,
preaching a Thursday lecture, tried to reconcile the rela-
tions of Church and State in the matter by discoursing
upon " Moses and Aaron meeting in the mount and kissing
each other."

The synod assembled again at Cambridge, June 8, 1647,
but a prevalent epidemic caused its adjournment in a fort-
night. It reassembled in August, 1(348. The childlike
faith of Winthrop found a propitious omen in an incident
of the occasion. Midway in the sermon a snake, creejiing
in at the door, crawled into the seat occu|>ied by the elders.
An elder of Braintrce, " a man of much faith," while
"divers of the others sliifted from it," crushed it witli hi.s
foot and staff. Winthrop wrote : '■ Tliis being so remark-
able, and nothing falling out but by Divine providence, it
is out of doubt the Lurd discovered somewhat of his mind
in it. The serpent is the devil ; the synod, the repre-
sentative of the churches of Clirist in New England." '
The synod ended its work in fourteen days, contenting
itself with adopting the Westminster Assembly's Confes-
sion of Faith, and by drawing a form of disci])linc, accord-
ing to tlie practice of tlnir churches. Tiiis latter was to
be " presented to the Churches and (ieneral Court for
their consideration and accejjtance in the Lord." In
October, 1049, the Court submitted these results to the
churches for their consideration, and in October, 1G51,
after this deliberate examination, it received a substan-
tial approval.

An interesting matter appearing in several entries on
the Court records illustrates both the assumed responsi-
bility of the civil government in the internal aflairs of the
churches, and its jealous care to preserve the high standard
1 Winthrop, iL 330.

222 TUE PURITAN AGE.

of the ministry for ability and training in professional
learning. The rude structure for the worshippers in the
First Chureh, after it had been enlarged, had in ten years
become decayed, and no longer serviceable nor spacious
enough for its general uses for various j)uri)Oses as a meet-
ing-house. In liJ40 a new and largir edilici', on another
site, was suljstituted. In ten yeais more, so ra|)id was the
growth of the town thai a second cliiiicli was gatheied, the
thirtieth in the juiisdiction, and seven brethren entered
into covenant to constitute it. It was not, however, until
four years after its house of worship had been built that
it succeeded in securing a pastor. Several acceptable
preachers had transiently served it, but declined the per-
manent office. The first of the signers of its covenant
was Michael Powell. lie had been licensed by the Court
in May, 1G46, "to keepe an ordinary and sell wync." in
I'edliam, where he lived. He was a dejiuty from that town
to the Court in 1G48, and took up his residence in Boston.
He had "a gift in jirayer and e.xhortation," and the church,
wearied with waiting, invited him to become its teacher,
and he assented. The Court interposed its prohibition.
In answer to a petition from the church, the Court, in Octo-
ber, 1G52, in considerate and courteous toims, in the wav
of " loving advice," gave its reasons to both parties. It
was at a time when in England CroniwelTs troopers and a
most miscellaneous company of men, from camp, fields, and
workshops, rude and illiterate, exhorted in pulpits, to the
scandal of the scholarly Puritans, bringing the ministrv
into contempt. Tlie Court, recognizing the dignitv of Bos-
ton in its ministry, makes a reference to " the humour of
the times in England inclineing to disct)uragc learning,
against which we have born testimony, (his Court in our
[ictition to the Parliament, which we should contradict if
ue should a[i[)rove of such proceedings amongst ourselves."
The Court was willing that Mr. Powell should serve the
rliiirch as " ruling elder," but not as pastor or teacher, for

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP AND THE FRANCHISE. 223

which it considers him unfit, as lacking in " such abilities,
learning, and qualifications as arc requisite and necessary
for an able ministery of the gosple." Mr. Powell might
edify by exhortation, but he might not be able to convince
" gayne sayers." The church may enjoy him as a ruling
elder, but they must wait for " the ordinances till they can
secure a fitt pastor or teacher." The Court even ventures
to propose such an one by name, but in vain. Both parties
acquiesced in the advice, Mr. Powell in a very modest
letter.!

On another special occasion the Court intervened, as if
in discharge of its trust in " tlie care of all the Churches."
The death of Mr. Cotton in 1652 was a grievous blow to
his flock, and Boston must do what it could to supply his
place. John Norton, at that time minister of Ipswich, had
then the highest rn|iutati(>n in scholarly and ministerial
qualities, which had already been frequently put to trial in
Boston. His own church seems at first to have loaned him,
as if liable to recall, to the bereaved town, and it was not
till 1656 that he was instituted there as teacher. Previous
to this the divisions and contentions between bis church
and that in Boston about his removal, became so aggra-
vated that the Court itself summoned and constituted a
council of elders, and two messengers from cacli of twelve
towns, to meet with tiie two conflicting cliurches, at Ips-
wich, to compose tlie differences. The c.xfienses, paid
from the public treasury, amounted to about twenty-five
pounds.^

The Court appears again in a very curious exercise of
its ecclesiastical functions, in addressing a letter in October,
1663, to the famous dissenting divine, Dr. John Owen, of
London. The Court thought the best sui)p!y none too
good for tlie service of its leading church. After the
death of Mr. Norton his flock had sent an invitation to

' Records, iii. 293, 331, 359, and Records of Second Cliurch.
' Records, iii. 378, 387.

224 THE PUiUTAN AGE.

Dr. Owen to eiunc and i'lll tin; vacancy. Tlie Court's let-
ter was to second and advance; tliis ajipcal. It i.s really a
^jraeel'ul and eliarniing epistle, modest and earnest, re-
cogniziiiLC tlic sacrifice to be made if the invitation should
be accepted, but pi-essin^' upon him the sucredness and
urgency of the need of the wild(M'ness work. lie is re-
minded " that Abraham and Moses at tiie call of (/od for-
sdiiki' tbcire country and the pleasures thereof." Governor
Endieott siiziis the letter in Ijchalf of the Court.'

While tbe Court thus steadily extended its interference
in the affairs of each and all the churches, in carrying
into etTeet its theocratical principles, it kept a watchful eve
upon all heretical utterances that might bring its doctrinal
system under question. They had liad many warnings
from religionists in England who were in general sympathv
with them, tliat their administi-ation of affairs in Church
and State was sharply scrutinized, and that much an.xiety
was there felt lest the activity and perversity of some rest-
less minds among the colonists might bring upon them the
scandal of heresies. The Court meeting in (Jctolicr, 1650,
found occasion to take measures " for the clcaringe of our-
selves to our Christian brethren and others in England."
The occasion was that the Court " had had the sight of a
booke," copies of which bad been pi'inted and dispersed in
England, " containing many errors and heresies generally
condemned by all orthodox writers." Unfortunately the
book had been written in New England by one of the most
honored gentlemen and magistrates of the Colony, William
r\nchon. Its heresies conccrnod the received view of the
doctrines of the Atonement. Tbe Court was at j)ains first
to jirepare and transmit to England " A Iteelaration and
Protestation" asserting veheinentlv their " innocenev, as
being ni'ilher partyes nor pri\y to the writinge, composing,
]irintinge, nor ili\ iilginge thereof ; l)iit that, on the contrary,
we detest and abhorre many of the opinions and assertions

' RiTunl.s iv. pt. ii. |>. 08.

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP AND TffE FRANCHISE. 225

therein as false, eronyous, and bereticall." Second, " that
it be sutfycventl)- answered by one of the reverend elders."
Third, " that Mr. Pinchon be summoned before the next
Generall Court, to answer for the same." Fourth, " that
the book be burned by the executioner in the market-place in
Boston after the Thursday lecture." The affair occupied
the protracted attention and action of the Court.' Mr. Nor-
ton was appointed to answer the book " with all convenient
speed." After a conference witli three of the ciders, Mr.
Pynchon so far explained and qualified some of his ex-
pressed views that the magistrates in May, 1G51, having
hopes of iiis convincement of his errors, and on account of
troubles in his family, allowed him to return to his home
in Sprinfrfield, he taking with him Mr. Norton's answer to
his book '' to consider thereof."' He was enjoined to ai>-
pear at the Uct(.)ber session to give satisfactiuu. Mr. Nor-
t(in received twenty pounds " for his paynes," and the Court
sent a copy of his writing to England for the press. At
the October session the patience of the Court was greatly
exercised at not getting satisfaction from the heretic. The
grave censure hanging over him was suspended, that he
might further weigh the " judicious answer" of Mr. Norton,
and he was f>ut under bonds of XI 00 to appear the next
May. Worried I)y these proceedings Mr. Pynchon returned
to England in 1G52, and soon i)ublishcd there a new edition
of his book.

The austerities of the Puritan Sabbath are familiarly
known among us both by tradition, with some faint relics
of them, and by the frequent references to them in our
modern literature. The compulsory attendance upon pub-
lic worsliip has already been noticed. Historic fidelity
requires that the most exacting law upon our old statute-
books concerning the Sabbath siiould appear at length here :

"At a Generall Court at Boston, Aug. C, ICiS : Upon inform.v
tion of sundry abuses and misdemeanors committed by several per-

' Records, iii. 215.
15

226 THK PdRITAN AGE.

sons on tlic Lord's d.iy, not only by (diildren playing in the strcctes
and oiIkt [ilari's, Ijiit \>\ voutlifs, maydoB, and other persons, both
straunrrcrs and otlicrs, uncivilly walkingo thi' streeten and feilds,
travilling from townc to lownr, gocing on shi[>-board, frr-quentinge
common howst's and other places to <irinke, sjiort, and otherwise
to niis[>fnd that precious time, which thinges tend much to the
dishonor of (!od, tlic reproach of religion, and tlie prophanation of
his holy Saboath, the sanctilication wliercof is somtime put for all
dutycs imme<liately respectinge the service of God conteined in
the first table ; it is therefore ordered by this Court and the
authoritie, that no children, youths, mayds, or other persons shall
transgress in the like kind on penalty of beinge reputed great pro-
vokers of the Idgh displeasure off Allmightv God. and further incur-
ringe the pccnaltyes hereafter expressed; namely, that the parents
and governors of all children above seven yeares old (not that we
approve of younger children in evill). for the first offence in that
kind, upon due ]irofe before nny magistrate, towne comniissifiner.
or select man of the towne where such offence shalbe committed
shalbe admonished ; for a second offence, upon due profe as afore-
said, shall pay as a fine five shillings ; and for a third offence, upon
due profe as aforesaid, ten shillings; and if they shall agayne
offend in this kind they shalbe presented to the County Court, who
shall augment punishment according to the meritt of the fact ; and
for all youths and maydes above foortccn yeares of age. and all
elder persons whatsoever that shall offend and be convict as afore-
said, either for playing, uncivilly walking, drinkinge. trayillinge
from towne to towne, gocing on shijvboard, sportinge, or any way
mispending that precious time," shall for successive offences meet
the same graded |iunishments of fines, — " and if anv be unable or
unwilliuge to pay the aforesaiii fines, they shalbe whipped bv the
constable, not exceeding five stripes for ten shillings fine ; and this
to be understood of such offences as shalbe committed during the
day light of the Lord's day." '

The Court mailc fliis tlic .sulijoct of rcnowcd and constant
legislation. All scryilc labor, and all passing froui place
to place save for necessity, mercy, or attendance on worship

1 Ui-conis, iii 318.

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP ANP THE FRANCHISE. 227

were prohibited on penalties. The Sabbath laws were to
be publicly read by the ministers in March and September.
Constables and tithing-mcn were to apprehend all Sabbath
breakers, and to search tippling houses for them. Noisy
offenders were to be put into a public " cage." A man was
to be appointed to look after each ten of the houses of
neighbors in a town, to see if the law was observed. Of-
ficers were stationed on the Nock to prevent horses and
carts from passing through or out of Boston after sunset
on Saturday. In lfi79 ministers were relieved of tlic pul>
lie reading of the Sabbath laws, and the duty was com-
mitted to the constable at some, public meeting.

The aims and the general and special measures of this
theocratic legislation will further appear as we proceed to
examine the Puritan administration.

VII.

ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE CHARTER.

The turnintr-point for a judicial decision on tlie course
pursued by the founders of Massachusetts in their civil
and ecclesiastical administration, is the qucstinn as to their
leiral or inferential territorial rights under their charter,
whether positive, exclusive, or in any way qualified or lim-
it(;d. Tlie alternative of these rights, as strictly legal or
inferential and constructive, is thus presented for a reason
here to be stated. The two directly antagonistic positions
have been affirmed and argued, that the founders of Massa-
chusetts on the one hand could, and on the other that
they could not, legally claim under their charter the ex-
clusive rights which they exercised. Postjioning this issue
for the present because of the antagonistic positions taken
concerning it, and because of the novel elements and the
lack of precedents which enter into it, we may ask if other
than strictly legal considerations may not properly be had
in view. One fact stands out before us which we cannot
fairly set aside, as recognizing inferential as distinct from
strictly legal rights. It is that the magistrates and Court
of Massachusetts when initiating and administering their
government, from the very first, alwav s, persistently, and
consistently, f)roceeded on the assumption — was it not also
their honest i)elief ? — that they had here exclusive territo-
rial rights for admission of other persons within their juris-
diction and rejection from it. Of course they maintained, as
some of their champions have argued, that they had these

ADMINISTRATION UNDKR THE CHARTER. 229

riglits by the terms of their charter ; but whether they re-
garded these as sufficiently definite and positive or not,
they planted themselves also on their inferential rights.
They were, at their own joint cost and peril, to suiidue
and occupy a portion of a waste wilderness, as individuals
and parties have ever since been doing — with recognized
pre-eniptory and exclusive light all over this continent — in
securing homesteads and settlements. The circumstances
and exigencies of their position; their jiutting their all at
stake; the perils of catastropiic ; the liberty which was
open to others to occupy other sections of a boundless wil-
derness, and their joint obligations to each other to protect
tlieir mutual interests ; their readiness to welcome con-
genial new-comers, and their dread of mischief from un-
friendly intruders, — tliese, if not standing for strictly legal
rights, were to their minds equivalents of or sulistitutes for
them. The terms of a written charter, however free or
restricted, would not suggest or furnisti the motives and
means by which the founders of Massachusetts could plant
their commonwealth.

If their prevailing motive and intent, as profoundly re-
ligious, has been thus far defined and certified as engaging
the leading parties in tlie Massachusetts P.ay in tlnir en-
terjirise, — those most iieartily cnmmittcd to it tbrough
their consciences and licarts, and the investment of their
means, — then it follows that as men thoughtful, prudent,
and practically sagacious, they would recognize the neces-
sity of a plan and a method. Two conditions would present
themselves as of supreme importance : (1 ) They must be
pledged and covenanted with each other for union, liar-
mony, and concert of action in a way to make their religious
purpose prominent and i)aramount ; (2j While inviting and
welcoming to their fellowship such as would co-operate and
sympathize with them, they must rigidly " repulse and ex-
clude " — as the charter worded it — all those who would
cause strife, variance, feuds, and endanger sedition and the

230 THE PURITAN AGE.

failure of an enterprise in itself liazurdous and much im-
perilled through its own inevitable risks. It will be well,
for obvious reasons, to deal first with this second con-
dition. Hoth these conditions weie had in view, indeed,
in the method by which they limited the franchise, and in
their treatment of dissenters and intruders. But as the
latter condition more directly involved the matter of their
legal rights under their charter, we may liere give it the
precedence.

As a most pertinent illustration of what these chartered
English colonists either assumed or believed to be their
territorial rights as soon as they initiated their authority,
let us take from their records some of the series of meas-
ures by which they stoutly proceeded to clear the domain
of all unwelcome occupants here.

Sept. 7, 1630, "It is ordered that noe person shall plant
in any place within the lymitts of this pattent, without
leave from the Governor and Assistants or the major parte
of them." '

Previous to this order "Morton of Mount Woolison"
had on the 23d of August l)ecn "sent for by proccsse,"
" sett into the bilbowcs, and after sent prisoner into Eng-
land." But this measure may be regarded as a judicial
firocecding against him for offences. Similar charges hav-
ing been made against Thomas Gray, he was, on Sept. '2S,
1630, " injoyned to remove himself out of the lymetts of
this [)attent before the end of March ncxte."

March 1, IGSJ, eight persons, who are named, are or-
dered to be sent to England, as persons " unmcetc to
inhabit here," with two more, as prisoners.

May 3, lfi31, " Tho. Walford of Charlestown," after
being fined " for eontemi)t of authoritic and confronting
officers, etc.," is ordered, with his wife, " to de[)arte out of
the lymits of this jiattent before tlie 20th day of October
nexte."

* Tlie Uccords givr tlieao prtJi'eoJings uiilKt tlii'ir datoa.

ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE CHARTER. 231

June 14, lG31,"It is ordered that noe person whatso-
ever shall travel out of this pattent, cither b}- sea or land,
without leave from the Governour, Deputy, or some otlicr
Assistant, under such penalty as the Court shall," etc. It
might seem as if Mr. Blackstone, who had been a solitary
resident here since 1624 or 1025, needed from the Court no
allowance of a homestead on the peninsula. Uut we read,
April 1, 1633, " It is agreed that Mr. William Blackestone
shall liave 50 acres of ground sett out for him neere to his
howse in Boston, to injoy for ever." This he sold to the
town when he removed. When at a later period we shall
have occasion to note that a sentence to banishment was
so little regarded by some of the Quakers, we may recall
that the Court had generally found this process to be
effective. But here is an exception. Oct. 3, 1632, Nich-
olas Frost having been convicted of theft, drunkenness,
and fornication, was sentenced, after whipping and brand-
ing on the hand, to be " banished out of tiiis pattent, with
penalty that if ever hee be found within the lymitts of the
said pattent, hee slialbe putt to death." lie returned in
1635, and gave the Court much trouble, and finally dis-
appears unaccounted for.

As the Court thus claimed in all cases rights of exclu-
sion, so it bestowed privileges of residence under its sanc-
tion. Thus, Sept. 25, 1634, " It is ordered that the Scot-
tishe and Irishe gentlemen which intends to come hither
shall have liberty to sitt downe in any place upp Meri-
macke Ryver, not prepossessed by any."

Sept. 3. 1635, " Ordered, that John Smyth shalbe sent
within theis six weekes out of this jurisdiction, for dyvers
dangerous opinions which hee holdeth and hath dyvulged,
if in the mean tyme be removes not himselfe out of this
plantation."

Sept. 6, 1638, " Mr. Willi : Foster, appearing, was in-
formed that wee conceive him not fit to live with us;
therefore he was wished to depart before tlie Generall Court

232 THE PURITAN AGE.

ill Marcli." March 13, I'J-i^. '• Mr. Ambros Marten, for
calliiii^ tlie cliurcli cov(Miaiit a Btiiikiinj; carryon and a
liiiinane invention, and Kayinf^ hce wondered at God's pa-
tience, feared it would end in the sharpe, and said the
ministers did dethrone Ciirist and set u[) themselves. lie
was fined ten pounds, and counselled to go to Mr. Mather
to bee instructed by him."

Sept. 7, 1C41, " Francis Llutchinson, for calling the
church of Busfoii a wiioare, a struinjiet, and otlier corrupt
tenets, hec is fined fifty jiounds, and t<j liee kept close
jirisoner till it bee paid, and then hee is banished upon
paiiie of death."

So far as these sentences of banishment were for offences
or crimes of lawlessness they would not enter into our
questioning as to whether or not the proceedings were legal
or arbitrary. But in those cases already presented, and
those yet to come before us, in which opiinions, or simijlv a
restless or "unconforming disposition" made individuals
"unmeet to inhabit here," the question becomes more
conijilicated. It may be well at this point to define what
was signified by the term " banishment." The Court
makes use of tlie word in the sentences which it infiieted,
but we must recognize a limitation of the full significance
of the penalty as a legal one, and of its effects u)ion its
victim. The full meaning of "banishment" was the ex-
clusion of a subject from the realm. The King of England
could not [lass that sentence. Both Magna t'harta and
the Act of Habeas Corpus denied him that prerogative as
attaching onls to Pailiament. The legal rights of a sul>-
ji'ct "•banished" from this colony were not impaired in
England, nor in any nther ]iart of the realm save that he
was excluded from llu' limits of this jurisdiction held bv
patent. The severity of the infliction would depend u]ion
many circumstances and conditions, and would not neces-
sarily involve barbarity or inhumanity. Substantiallv the
whole continent here was to Englishmen a wilderness. In

ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE CHARTER. 233

the sharp controversy on the " Bloody Tcnent " between
John Cotton and Roger Williams, the former, evidently
thinking that Williams had rather whined over his Itanish-
ment and wilderness hardships, yields to a somewhat grim
luimor in referring to it. He queried whether such banish-
ment as Williams had suffered —

" be in proper speech a puuishmeiit at all, in such a C'ountrey as
this is, where the Jurisdiction (whence a man is banisiiedj is but
small, and the Countrey round about it large and fruitl'ull ; where
a man may make his choice of variety of more pleasant and prof-
itable seats than he leaveth beliiude him. In which respect. Ban-
ishment in this C'ountrey is not counted so mucii a coulinement
as an enlargement ; where a man does not so mucii loose civill
comforts, as change them.' "

Yet in sfjitc of this pleasantry the magistrates did not
concern themselves with any view of the after cxfieriences
of a banished person. Their sole object was to be rid of
him. Anil, still leaving for the present the (|iiestiun of
their legal right thus to exclude from their jurisdiction,
we are dealing with the subject from that point of view
in which they assumed the right as an inferential one on
grounds of necessity and exigency.

We may well give a thought here to the responsibilities
of the leaders of this enter[irise, and to the personal risks
and charges which it invnlviMl for tlu'nisclvi's. It was not
strange tlit^t thev should read, as if seeking special lessons
for their own guidance, the straits and ijuffctiiigs of Moses,
as, himself directed from on high, he led his hosts into
the wilderness. Every association which we connect witii
mere adventurers, or with those seeking for fortune and
pain, must be wholly set aside as wc contemplate those
leaders, their inspirations and resolutions. Winthroji, Sal-
tonstall, Ilumfihrey, Johnson, and Dudley, had no need to
seek any bettering of their ^fortunes. Winthrop had his

' Reply to Mr. Williams.

234 THE PURITAN AGE.

iiuuior ami frerliold, ;iiiil liis rijrlit (jf Church presentation
ill the [Kirish of liis ancestors ; lluiii|iiircy and Jolmsoii were
tiic Imshands of dau;i;hters oi liic Earl of Lincoln; and
I)iidi<'y in'ld the res]]oiisiljl(,' ollice of hia steward. When
they landed upon this soil tiie noble Cuuimonwcalth of
Massachusetts had its ijirth. As we trace back our di--
velo|)ed history to its fust pages and t(j di/eds written and
acted by them and their immediate associates, we shall
have to note on the record much that we might -wish were
otherwise. Common human weakness(;s intcnsiQed by nar-
row and rigid (ii'inciples, by harsh and unyielding religious
tenets, gave to their proceedings an aggravation of sever-
ity. This is largely to be referred to the then universal
spirit in Christendom which allowed inhumanity and bar-
barity a very fiee indulgence in connection with the in-
tlietion of legal penalties. The fact that tiiis severity of
disci])line was by no means peculiar to the Puritan rule in
Massachusetts may to a degree relieve their fault in this
respect. In tracing tlie course of that rule here we ha\e
found that a ta.K for the support of religious institutions
was exacted from all the inliabitants, and that attendance
upon worship was comjiulsory on the penalty of a tine.
Such was tlie law in force in the mother country. In the
colony of Virginia, in IGIO, attendance on church services
twice every Sunday was enjoined " upon pain, for the first
fault, to lose their [iroxision and allowance for the whole
week follijwing; for the second, to lose said allowance,
and also to be whipped ; and for the third, to sutler death."
Sulisei|uent modifications of the law in \'irgiiiia were as
follows: "The Oovernor published seveial edicts, — That
every person should go to church Sundays and holidays,
or lie Neck and Heels that night, ami l)e a slave to the
colony the following week; for the second ofience he
sliould be a slave for a month; for the third, a year and
a dav." In Virginia Assembly, Aug. 4, 1G19, a penalty
of tJirei' shillings a time was exacted for uon-attcndunce,

ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE CHARTER. 235

and in case of a servant bodily punishment was to be
inflicted.'

The fact of the transfer of the Patent and the admin-
istration of the Company under it from England liither
would have but a qualified relation to the legality of the
proceedings here ; for all the rights and prerogatives
claimed or exercised by those bringing that Patent with
them would have been enforced on this soil by resident
otficials and subordinates of the Company through direc-
tions from home. The two chief matters of legislation
which bring the legality of the administration by the
Charter under question are, the restriction of the franchise
to church members, and the exclusion of all unwelcome
intruders or offensive persons presenting themselves here.
The writer will not venture beyond his de[)tli in discussing
the principles of law and equity as bearing u]ion these
matters. It may be difficult to delinc riglits and innnu-
nities, incidental and const ructive, as conferred l)y the
Charter; but it is nut at all difficult to say lnjw the pri>
prictors of tiiat Ciiartcr regardnl, interpretfd, vindicated,
and applied their rights. They did nut lay claim to a con-
tinent, but to a patcli of wilderness lying between two out
of a thousand of its rivers. The whole remainder of that
wilderness was open and free for occu[)ancy by other jier-
sons who wished to try other exj)criments under other
charters. The Records of the Court show in their ])agc3
how earnest it was t(j hx the bounds and follow the lines
of its covenanted territory. The skill of the earliest sur-
veyors of the Colony, of master-navigators, and of stu-
dents in Harvard College, who for the occasion are called
" artists," was put to well-appreciated service for that ol>
ject. This indicated the consciousness of a valued jiosses-
sion, and a jealousy in protecting it. In the discussion by
papers between Winthrop and Vane, which will be in [ilace
in the matter of the Antinomian controversy, the i)oint at

' Force's Tracts, iii. (ii.) 11, and Slitb's Viiginia, p. 147. 1018.

23G Tin; i'uiutan age.

iwsuo was wlictlicr the firujiiictors of the cliartered tcrri-
tiiry h:ii| a riLfht \ty it in cxeluilc frcjiii it istran^/crs and all
iiiiwi'lconic ]iursoiis, or whctliur all EiiLrli.shmi'ii could enter
and reside here. Mr. DonIc, the lati.-st Enfflish writer on
our early history, has some loi'cible remarks on this sub-
ject. He says : —

" \\'inllirci|) sets forth ofTectively enough the ab.strart ripht of
the euiiniiuiiitv lo keep out lliosc wllo^e presenee might bring
danger. He bliows tliat th<' whole fabrie of political society in
New England rested on thr assumfition that the Slate was a self-
eleetiiig body, requiring from its nieailiers certain religious quali-
tications. Wliere lie fails is in proving that the iufiiction of
suffering and the interference with individual liberty were in the
[iresent instance necessary."

The instance referred to was the hanishmcnt of the
Antiiiomians, the reason for wdiich, as laid down by the
Court, was that their principles were such as made it im-
possible for them to live here peacefully and harmoniously.
Mr. Doyle adds : —

" If Wintlirnp's apologv for the order shows an inadequate ap-
preciation oi the principles of religious freedom. Vane's answer
to it did so eipially. He neither takes the broad line of general
toleration, nor the equally tenable line that toleration was in the
prescat instance consistent witli the safety of the Stale. lie
showed, too, how little he understood the couiniunity which he
liail joined, bv putting forward tlie argument that tlie Patent gave
a ri^lit of settlement in New England to all ]ler^on•; whatsoever.
Such a ecintention was whollv needless for contrcnersial purposes,
while the practical acceptance of it wouhi liave been fatal in
llie Iciii;; run to the objects which V.me had in common with
Winthrop." '

lint none the less, whatever were tlie limitations of
Viine's argument, lie and Winthrop representeil, respect-
ively, the two o|ipcisiiig sides on the vital (juestion. Did

' Tbc Eii^;lisli in .\iiicrica, i, 178.

ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE CHARTER. 237

the Charter give paramount and exclusive rights to liie
patentees of this territory to possess it and rule it, and to
exclude from it all undesirable strangers, — Eiiirlish as
well as Dutcli or French, — or did that Cliarter leave the
territory free to the entrance and residence of any Englisli-
man who might choose to come ? Lawyers may decide ;
indeed, lawyers have decided tliis — as also so many other
questions — on its different sides. But one tiling is cer-
tain ; namely, that if Winthrop and his Company, before
their emigration, had even conceived that sucii a pica to
warrant the coming into tlieir domain freely of any jier-
sons unwelcome to them could have been asserted and
maintained, the territory, so far as tliey were concerned,
would have been a wilderness to-day.

Whenever occasion called for it, tlie assertion of tlic ex-
clusive rights of the Compiany was made in tiic plainest
and most unqtialified terms, — not with the tone of special
pleading, as an afterthought, a device, strategctically, or as
if to rally failing courage. The territory was worthless
till toil and money had iicen sjiont upon it, and thrn its
value accrued to th(»se by whose pains and charges it li;id
been secured. What were even the King's rights com-
pared with theirs '! A technical usage and a winking un-
derstanding between foreign sovereigns had bi-onglit it
about, that newly-discovered territory, sighted from the
ocean, should come under the sway of the monarcli whose
mariners first rejiorted it. It was a very easy process for
securing possession and dominion of vast expanses of a
continent. One may well pause upon the question, Wliut
was the relative riglitfulness of a claim like this compared
with that of a subsequent actual possession secured l)y
private cost, and turned from worthlessness to intrinsic
value by the removal of forests, the subjection of wild
bea,sts and wild men, and the planting in it of homes and
civilized communities ? In the reading of our annals from
the first settlement down to the Revolution we are often

238 THE PtmiTAN AGE.

toniptcd to pause upon the fnicstion, What after all were
till' trroiirids of natural riirlit which tii'd this and the otlicr
colonics to subjection to tlic mother country'.'

On tiic arrival of the Company with the Patent it is
estimated that there may have been some three hundred
])ersons already here within the limits of the jurisdiction.
All liut a few Bcattcred individuals, or (groups, were at
Salem, previously sent over by the Company as its em-
ployees. \\'intliro[i's first company was a round thousand,
and a second thousand at once followed. Purin;.' the first
twenty years after the arrival at Fiymoutli more than
twenty thousand persons from the Old World had found
homes in New Eneland. I'archment charters were the
only contribution made by the monarch to this vast enter-
prise. No patronage or help of any kind, no treasury
grant, no supplies of army or navy or muniments of war
were furnished to aid the work of colonization. It seems
to have been by a sort of premonition with the founders of
^Massachusetts that the time would come when their pos-
terity would find an arprumcnt for indejiendence in claim-
ing that they had never incurred any delit or obligation to
the motlier country, that they themselves were so jealously
on their guard neither to ask nor receive any government
favors, even when their own resources seemed to be
exhausted.

The Hudson Bay Company, incorporated twenty years
after that of Massaeluisetts, neither in its charter, in the
avowed purposes of its stockholders, nor in its conduct or
management, made the slightest recognition of any ends
of religion. l>ut- in its rights of monopoly it ]iractised a
most rigid exclusion of all outside of its membership. It
allowed no one to enter its patented domain but its own
emfiloyees. More than this : it was covenanted to make
and to advance explorations. It not only wholly failed on
its own part to meet this obligation, but it forcibly resisted
all attempts or designs of others in such enterprises. Its

ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE CHARTER. 239

resolve from the first was to continue its vast territory —
rivalling tlie whole European continent — in its original
wilderness condition, as a preserve for fur-bearing animals.
Its administration was carefully guarded in secrecy. Its
annual profits were enormous. By ingenuity and intrigue,
by high patronage and presents, and by pointing to the
astounding powers conferred on it by its Ciiarter, the Com-
pany maintained its monopoly for exactly two centuries.
When compelled by royal and parliamentary action to re-
lax its control, in the interests of colonization in some
part of its territory, it succeeded in driving a bargain
which continued largely its profits by trade, and for the
rest converted it into a most thrifty land coni|)any. If
any one should attempt a comparison of the rights con-
ferred respectively by the cliartors of the two Bay cinnf)a-
nies, and of the administrations under them, Massachusetts
would not be found to have been the mure exclusive or
intolerant.

We have seen that in the protracted and tentative efforts
of the colonists to frame and digest a body of laws suited
to the novel circumstances of their condition and needs,
tiiey admitted that they might be compelled to deviate
from English statutes, or at least to snfi[ily thfir defects
in application here. Winthrop states the case frankly and
with force, the Bible coming in the parenthesis : —

"Our Government is framed .icconling to our Ciiarter and the
fundamental and common laws of England, and carried on accord-
ing to the same (taking the words of eternal truth and rij.'liteous-
ness along with them), with such allowance for the difference
between an ancient, populous, and wealthy kingdom and uu in-
fant, thin colonv, as common reason suggests and requires."

Even the Episcopal lawyer, Lechford, unwelcome and
obnoxious as he was to the fathers of the Colony, and
retiring disaffected from their discipline, wrote of them
in 1642: —

'240 TIIR PUltlTAN AGK.

" I tliiiik that wi.sfr mi-n tliaii tlii'y, g'-iiug into a wilderness to
9(_'t U[p anotliiT stran;,'^ fjovcrrinicnt difleririg from the settled gov-
eriiincnt in Ki];;hiii(l, nii;;lit have fallen into greater errors than
they have done." '

Wp are still keeping ourselves outside of tlie province
ami judirment of jurists, as to the legal rights of adniinis-
tratidu i-onfcrr(_Mi iiy the Charter, and eoiifining ourselves
to those which the magistrates, in apparent sincerity of
conviction, regarded as constructively and inferentially he-
longing to them as of necessity and emergency. Mr. Oosle
justly atlirms that "the legislati(jn of New England did but
approve and conhrm those modes of life the adoption of
which had been the chief motive for colonization." ^

Let us suggest, for help in following up our present line
of comment, a sujiposition, not forced, but simple in its use.
Su[ipose that as Winthrop's fleet was weighing anrhor in
thi' Downs, a slii]) not belonging to the Comjiany had sailed
in among tlirm, and that the captain on being hailed hail
announced that he had with him a considerable number of
passengers who jiroposed td join tlif Bay Cum]iany in its
enterprise, to share their rights, privileges, and fortunes,
saying nothing about their own schemes, or proft'ering any
stock or aid. Will any one maintain that the responsible
leaders of the Company had no alternative but to accejit
tliese volunteers, and allow them, on their own terms, to
jiiin the fleet, to land with them on the chartered territory,
and at once to take part with them in the administration
of it ? If this case sup])0seii had really occurred, the party
in the strange ship would doul)tless have been told that till
fuller information cimld be had concerning their intent and
means, their company was not desirable. Further than
this, they would iiave been forbidden all share and partici-
pation in the territorial rights and administration of the

' PIftin Tlralinp. (To the Ri-ttder.)
^ The Knglish in Amorion, ii. Si.

ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE CHARTER. 241

Company. Now, if the Company could rightfully exercise
this authority of exclusion at the beginning of their enter-
prise, by forbidding strangers and unwelcome persons to
join it, when and how could they be subsequently divested
of that right? When and how could their own [jroprietary
claims be so qualified that every Englishman would have
an unchallenged liberty to enter and abide here ?

What, we may ask, were the rights of tlie colonists as
Englisiimeii on their purchased and patented territory ?
What privileges and immunities did these rights secure,
and how were they to be maintained, not only against those
who might intrude upon or trespass against tliem, but
also against any mischievous or arbitrary interference with
them by the Ciovernment at home '.' We shall have an-
swers to these (piestions, most resolute and empliatic,
given by tlie magistrates in their dealings with trouble-
some persons, and in their vindication of their proceed-
ings, and also in their stout rcmonstrauces and pleas even
against royal instructions.

If they were so bold as directly to challenge and defy
the measures of the King and Council in interfering with
their jurisdiction and administration, and yielded only
through compulsion and hopelessness of resistance, and
not by free-will, to the vacating of their Charter, tliey made
the strongest possible assertion of what they Ijclieved to bo
their rights. Their challenge to the King was ineffectual
when finally made by tlic first Colonists of Massachusetts,
but it proved successful and effective when made on pre-
cisely the same grounds by a later generation of the origi-
nal stock. At the time <jf the threatened vacating of the
Colony Charter Andros had exasjierated the Colonists by
taunting them with the insult tliat they could not cxiiect
the liberties of Englishmen would follow tliem to the ends
of the earth. Very well. Assuming this to be true, what
followed ? If shorn of any of the liberties attaching to
residents in England, then, of course, their only resource

IC

242 TIIK PURITAN AOE. *

was to (iiui an equivalent for what thoy had lost, in falling
back upon their liberties as men, and claiming and excrcis-
intr these. 'JMiis was )ireciseiy the |ir()]](j.silion advanced by
John Adams at tlie outbreak of the Revolution. By just
so much as the Colonists lacked of the riij-hts and immu-
nities of En^j-lishmeu they were to find a substitute in their
rights as men, for self-protection and self-government.

If this were true of those who were living here at the
era of the Revolution, there was all the more of right and
reason in it for the exiles of the first generation. Tliere
were reasons makint: it necessary and imjierative for them
to claim and exercise these natural rights here in a wilder-
ness, expatriated, at their own charges, without govern-
ment protection or patronage, amid rude and rough be-
ginnings, surrounded with [lerils. They had successfully
withstood the first demand of the home authorities in ItJSo
to return and surrender their charter. Soon after this the
civil war and the upturning of the royal government in
England, ])ut into powei' in the administration of public
affairs [irinciples and men in sympathy with the republican
and religious proclivities of the Colonists. This gave them
a breathing, an op[)cirtunity for stiffening grit and muscle,
and for familiarizing themselves with their own I'Xperiment
of government. All the positions and princijiles which
came into assertion in the o|iening measures of the Revo-
lutionary War, may be found in something more than their
germ in the early Court Records.

So far the strict legality by the terms, privileges, and'
limitations of tlie Charter, of the rights claimed and exer-
cised by the Ceneral Court of Massachusetts, has been
defi'rred fi>r consideration. And liere 1 may say with
frankness that 1 d" not feel coniiiet(Mit or qualified to deal
with the strictlv legal bearings of this (question ; nor slumld
1 care even to discuss it. The fact that eminent jurists
as well as other able lint non-professional men have pr(v
nounced directly o]iposite decisions upon it, might well

ADMINISTRATION UNDER TUE CHARTER. 243

dissuade a layman from intermeddling witli it. Tlic last
di.scussiou of the subject, which has claimed the attention
of the readers of our earliest history, is that which came
from the pen of tliat able and acute jurist, the Hon. Joel
I'aiker, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New Hamp-
shire, and lloyall Professor in the Dane Law School of
Harvard University. ' Judge Parker treats the tofiic of the
" Religious Legislation of Massachusetts under the Finst
Charter." This involves the questions "how far any such
legislation was lawful ; and to what extent the grantees
had any right of legislation, properly so called, by the pro-
visions of that instrument." The variances of judgment
wliich have been expressed on these questions, he says,
have turned upon the alternative "whether theCliarter
was regarded as instituting a corporation for trading pur-
puses, or as the constitution and foundation of a guvcrn-
ment." The grantees, lie believes, " regarded it as the lat-
ter, and acted upon that construction." Looking at "the
terms of the Charter, and to a sound construction of its
jirovisions to ascertain what rights of legislation, religious
or otherwise, were possessed by the grantees," the Judge
confidently maintains the following propositions : —

1. " Tlii' C'hartfT i.s not. .ind w.is not intended txi l)e, an act for tlic
incorporation of a trading or mcrcliant-s' company merely. But it
wa.s a grant wiiich contemplated the settlemi-nt of a Colony, with
power in the inenrporated eom]>any to govern that Colony."

2. " Tlie Charter authorized the est;ibli.shment of the govern-
ment of the Colonv within the limits of the territory to he gov-
erned, as was done by the vote t<> transfer the Cliarter and
government."

3. " The Charter gave ample powers of lesrislation and of gov-
ernment for the Plantation or Colony, including power to legis-

' Sep, in " Locturen on the Rarly History* of Ma.'^.'^achuRetts, by Members of
the Ma.ss.achusPtt.s Historical Society, before the Lowi'll Institute," Lecture
XI. on the First Charter of Massachusetts. By Joel I'arkcr, LUD. 1S69.

244 TIIK rUUlTAN AGE.

hitf oL religious sulijccLs, in thr inaiiiior iu which the prautees and
their associates claimed ami exercised the legislative power."

*1. "The Charter authorized the exclusion of all persons whom
the f^rautees and their associates should see fit to exclude from
settlement in the Colony ; and the exclusion of those already
settled, by banishment as a [lunisliuient for offences."

Tiic reader will notice tin: sweep and coinpreliciisivcness
as well as the positivcnes.s and the umiualified character of
tlic terms here set f(jrth. And if their justice and force
arc admitted, the reader can also judge how far they go to
relieve and even justify those measures and proceedings of
the Colony, which besides being condemned as arbitrary,
tyrannical, and cruel, have also been adjudged illegal. But
the reader must turn to the lecture of the Judtre, covering
more than fourscore pages, with its citations and argu-
ments, its elaborate and learned jileadings. its luminous
statements, and its frank and candid recognition of all
the evidence and considerations that have been advanced
by those who have maintained directly opposite views on
the great subject of debate, if he would fairly apprehend
the alternative views on the lawfulness of the legislation of
Massachusetts under the Charter.

The writer need not here rejieat what he has alreadv
affirmed in the j)lainest possible terms, that these pages arc
not written in championship or vindication of the views
and proceedings of the legislators of the Colony. It is
not for him, therefore, to ofTcr pleas or arguments on any
disputed matters, nor to pronounce upon the strict legality
or illegality of their construction of their Charter. This
question of legality is indeed a most vital one, in view of
the wlnjle legislation and administration of the government.
But it is especially pertinent, as it bears upon the four epi-
sodes in our early history to be rehearsinl in the latter half
of these [lages, in which, independently of what niav be
charged as persecution, there was also a rightful or an
usur[ie'(l e.xercise of so\ei'eign jiowers. The writer stiil

ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE CHARTER. 245

confines himself to an historic statement of the doings of
the colonial authorities as set forth under the circumstances
and conditions, with their reasonings, and constructions
of their rights and duties. These constructions arc to be
regarded at first sight either as presumptuous and high-
lianded assumptions of illegal authority, or as honest
interpretations of privileges and obligations imder the
stress of exigency and necessity. It is to be granted that
to some extent tlic authorities brought their embarrass-
ments and exigencies on tlicmselves, if in an illegal and
presumptuous way, as by artifice or trick, in the removal
and transfer of their government from Old to New Eng-
land they had perverted the original intent of a home ad-
ministration into a foreign one. Judge Parker's argument
is to be studied on tiiis {)oint. All tliat tlie writer of these
[lages has been concerned witli is the views and ojiinions,
whether assumptions or con\ictionR, of the authorities,
about their own rights and privileges under their Charter.
On grounds already set forth, the writer, upon the closest
and most candid study of all tliat has cnnie witliin liis
reach, lias assured himself that the autluuitirs of Massa-
chusetts not only assumed, l)nt were honestly and tlior-
oughly convincrd that they riglitfully possessed, tln^ powers
wliich they exercised. They had not cajoled tlicmselves
into tliis belief, nor were they driven into it as a covert, in
attemjiting to turn their position of aggression into one of
defence. And I have chosen to present their views of their
own legal rigiits as inferential or constructive. Very likely
some of tlie magistrates, wiien challenged for their course,
would have stoutly pleaded that if they had not legally the
authority they exercised, they ought to have it. It was
essential, indispensable to them. As pro[irietors of terri-
tory, and magistrates under a charter, they certainly were
empowered to keep out interlopers and prevent sedition.
The Charter empowered them to choose new associates,
joint proprietors, " freemen " on their own terms, and all

24t; THE PUHITAN AGE.

wlio Avcro not members of tlie Company were to be re-
strained from doiiij^ it any niisehief. If anything further
were needed to prove what tliry believeil their Charter
assured and covenanted to them of valued and exclusive
rights, this would be found abundantly in the tenacity with
which they held it, and those rights under it when rhal-
leuL'^ed liv the rnval (•(iininissioriers in 1GG5, as will further
on a])])ear. Cnder the screws of those commissioners they
contested each demand for concession. If they yielded at
any point, they would have it a[)pear that it was not from
pressure, but as an " enlargement " on motives of fi'iend-
ship. And when they consented, with seeming helpless-
ness, to give up the church membership restriction of the
franchise, they got round it by requiring as a substitute a
full ei|uivalent as an assurance of orthodoxy. Indeed, the
last assertion of their covenanted Charter rights, just as
they were to be de[irived of them, was the most resolute in
its obstinacy. Tiicy use the strongest languaije, and that
most emphatically. One reads in it now how the vigor
of an independent sjiirit had been nourislied in the wil-
derness till they had well-nigh forgotten that they had a
King.

.'~<iime stress may justly be laid on the fact that those wlio,
as original proprietors and memliers iif the Company, and
their subsequent representatives, maintained their rights
and claims under the Charti'r, were all in accord in so
doing. It was as partners and proprietors, and imt as in-
diviilually interested, proceeding on the belief that tlieir
jiri\ileges were guaranteed to them, that they sought a
fniindation for their legislatiim, and unitedly opposed those
who questioned or resisted tlieir administration. If they
could assure and preserve accord among themselves, re-
taining the rule by a firm hand, they felt that they should
succeed in maintaining their rights and in resisting oppo-
sition friim the uiisym]ialhi7.ing and tlie disafTected among
them. 'I'lie failure rjf some jirevious attempts at coloniza-

ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE CHARTER. 247

tion on tliis continent, tliey ascribed, as we have seen, to
the wliolly worldly, secular aims liad in view, while they
exalted and thouirht to secure prosperity for their own by
making religion its master motive. Before the coming
hither of Winthrop's company there had been many pub-
lications and reports of the distractions among the suc-
cessive companies and adventurers in Virginia. A civil
community, especially one gathered of materials in a raw
and uncontrolled medley of fortune-seekers in a colony,
would be sure to become a pandemonium, save as a strong
moral and religious restraint could be brought to bear upon
them by men in authority, themselves sincerely and thor-
oughly under the sway of such motives. The preceding
pages have sliown us that the responsible authorities in the
administration of affairs in Massachusetts had sought, con-
sistently with their avowed f)ur[)ose, to make not only re-
ligion in the abstract, but the literal commaiidmcuts and
statutes of it as given in the Bible, the basis of government
for the community. However we may judge or censure
the severity of their rule, wc owe even to the sternest of
the magistrates and ciders the generous recognition of the
fact that they did not lay upon others burdens wliich they
themselves shrank from bearing. For reasons which then
had weight, and the force of which seems to have been
uiichallengfd, the estates of magistrates and ministers were
exem[ited from the colony rales, or pulilic taxes. The
charges to which their position and duties exposed tiiem,
and their generosity of spirit shown in free contributions
to all good objects, were considend an offset to such ex-
emption. But the magistrates were in no sense a favored
or indulged class of men like the privileged orders and the
sharers of social distinctions in the Old World. Tiiey were
held to a more exemplary " walk and carriage," and had
observant eyes upon them.

Whatever else may be said of Puritan legislation, we
must admit its rigid and scrupulous impartiality. Win-

248 TUK PLIUITAN AGE.

tlirnp tells ns ' undrr date of Sfjit. 1, ir,35 : " At this Gen-
eral (,'oiirt was llie first frraiid jury, wIkj presented above
one hundred (jflenccs,and anioiif.'- otliers some of the Magis-
trates." Indeed, Wintiirofi, Diidle}', Endicott, Sir Richard
Saitonstall, and lJuni|ihrey were in turn suliject to court
processes. In May, 1644, " Mr. Robert Saitonstall is fined
five sliilliiij:rs for presenting his jietition in su small and bad
a pcece (jf paper." ^

In following out the spirit and metliod of the adminis-
tration of the Colony through the general and countv and
magistratical courts, we have to make large account of the
rapid and extraordinary increase of the population from
tiie swarming in of immigrants during its first twelve
years. It is safe to say that the original promoters of the
enterprise had had no previous anticipation of the increased
responsibilities and per{ilexities which would cume upon
them from this source. Hapjiily for them, a large jiropor-
tion of the elements of this rapid addition to their num-
bers were in sympathy and in general liarmony with them
in their religious and repuiilican sentiments and principles.
The distraction and ferment working in the mother countrv,
before it resulted in civil wai-, in the prostration of kinglv
rule, and the temjiorary humiliation of the Chuich of Eng-
land, had led many timid or peace-loving persons, of strong
religious principles, not in all eases however Puritanical, to
Reek here if only a temporary refuge for tliemselves and
flieir families. It was thus that the Colonists wci'c enabled
to welcome hi're, just where they wei'e most needed in the
rafiidly s(>ttled towns and plantations of New England, those
scholarly men who "as ministers and tcach(^rs" jirovcd
tri be the best guides and fosterers of the institutions which
alike in Church and State have directed the development of
thi.s section of our eonntry, and have had a jiaramount in-
fluence for good over its most extended sections through
pioneers trained here. After those dozen years of the

* Winthroi', i. 166. ^ Ri-ooril.-i, li. 7t!.

ADMINISTRATION UEDER THE CHARTER. 249

earliest rapid immigration, the process was suddenly ar-
rested, and the concourse ceased, because men of New
England ])rinci[)les found congenial occu])ation for tlicni-
selves in the stirring scenes of revolution in the mother
country. Indeed, there was a considerable return flood of
active and fervent spirits setting tliither. Names found in
the catalogue of the graduates of the first years of Har-
vard College are conspicuous on the public stage of affairs
in Englanti ; and other names familiar here of those who
roamed these wilderness pathways are connected witii the
tragedies of the times. Vcnner, the wild leader of the
Fifth Monarchy rising, had been a cooper in Salem. AVe
are to meet in tliese pages with the prominent influence in
our earliest years of Sir Henry Vane and Hugh I'eter, wlio
suffered in England as traitors. Sir (leorge Downing, of
Harvard's tirst class, won distinctions rather tlian honors.

But going back to the twelve of our first years when the
immigration was so rajiid and numerous, and in general so
welcome, we take the count of .Johnson, in his " Wonder-
Working Providence," as trustwortiiy, fur he had the means
and purpose of accuracy. He writes of —

" The transportation of these Armies of the great Jeliova, for
fifteen years' space to the vear ir.4.'!, about wliich time England
began to endeavour after Reformation, ami tlie Souliliers of Christ
were set at fiberty to bjile his battels at liome, for whose assistance
some of the cliiefe worthies of Christ returned liaek ; the number
of Sliips that transported passengers in tliis s|)ace of time, as is
supposed, is 29M. Men, women, and ehiliiren passing over this
wide Ocean, as near as at present can be gatfiered, is also supposed
to be 21,200, or thereabout." '

For these multitudes, composed of strongly-marked indi-
vidualities, groups, and companies, wiiether strangers to
each other previously, or bound in fellowship, the General
Court, representing the governing board of an original

' Woiiiler- Working Proviilence, p. 31.

-')0 THE rUBITAN AGE.

tiadinf^ companv, was to assume tlip onic(; of legislation
and a(lminislratii)ii. That tlie trust was discliarged so
wisely and so will, demands our pi'ateful recotniition. We
are soon to deal sueecssively witli four episodes in that
administration which are at least excefitional as to our com-
mendation (if it. Yit it is liut fair to regard them as
exceptional incidents in the matter and course of legis-
lation, though the spirit of severity and bigotiy which
[)rompted them was the ruling element of the whole of it.
The Court had much more to do than to deal with heretics,
dissentients, and distuibers of its peace. For one who
would instruct himself upon the responsibilities and trusts
committed to the magistrates — advised on emergency by
the elders — there are two chief sources of information now
jirovided. The one is the Records of the Oeneral Court, by
no means repelling even an ordinary literary interest biy
their mustiness, but with many matters suggestive of some
romantic elements of the time, and provocative of humor.
The other source of information is found in the numerous
histories of the old towns of the State generously published
Ijy those satisfied with if not even proud of their contents.
The earliest pages of these annals of our original munici-
palities show al.)out an cfiual division between matters of
local concern managed wholly by the inhabitants, and
tliose which indicate the agency and authority of the Gen-
(ial Court, cither uecessarv, or interposed, or solicited in
tiie o\ersight of their affairs. From tiiese two sources one
may easily learn how multifarious were the interests of
infant and growing cixil communities, of neighborhoods
and of scattered settlements committed to the Court for
direction and disposal. There arc i)agcs of the Records
referring to matters to us so petty and trivial as to cause
us t(i niar\cl how men who really had serious and proht-
alilc subjects to engage their time and tiiought could for
u moment entertain them. But the most trivial of these
matteis had some relation to great concerns of riglit be-

ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE CHARTER. 251

tween man and man, and the equities of justice. A smile
is often [irovoked from us when we read of the recourse for
relief which the Court found in committing to two or three
most trustworthy men in a settlement the authority " to end
small causes," — that is, to dispose of variances involving a
sjtecilicd amount of money. The Court set itself first scru-
pulously to deal with the rights of the Indians, to protect
them from extortion and oppression, and, always excepting
the wars which it honestly believed were thrust upon them
by the savages, it contributed often and largely by its enact-
ments for-thc general benefit of these forlorn and intract-
able children of the forest. The Court assumed for many
years the office of guardianship for widows and orphans,
the settlement of estates, the jeahuis watch over the inter-
ests of the unfortunate and the insane, and in many cases
the difficult work of arbitration in personal and local dis-
putes. Indeed, one may gather from the miscellaneous and
comprehensive materials of the Records, that the Court,
thouglimf course on a much reduced and proviiiciiil scale,
had items of business, of debate, and legislation before it
comparalile with the res[)onsibility and routine which en-
(raare a modern legislature of a State, and even the I'arlia-

or? ~

ment of a nation. Selecting from those Records and gath-
ering together all the references to fortifications, and an
elaborate military organization, local and central, with
orderly drill and trainings, [irovisions for subsistence, arms,
ordinance, and ammunition, with rules for insj)ection, a
board and articles of war, wc obtain a formidaiile view of
all the essentials involved in the system of a militia and
a standing army. Competent, brave, and faithful olTicers
were never lacking, and the trained bands of every town
were ever ready for regular and emergent service. An apt
method was found for exciting alarms and for spreading
intelligence. Drafts were readily responded to. Surgeons
and chaplains were provided on all needful occasions, and
the pay-roll was honored.

'J6"J THE rL'KITAN AGE.

The rourt early and contimiouHly i^ave its attention, and,
wlicii iirrdliii, its patroiiuL'i', to tliu dovelopiiieiit of mining;
wealtli, to promoting niannfactiires, iroii-work.s, and tlie
niiikiiiir <if suit; and tlicrc wen' instances in which it antici-
pati'd patent and royalty laws by j>rotccting ingenuities,
de\ifes, and iiiventi(Uis. Though one might naturally sup-
pose that the straits and necessities of early colonial life
on rough soil and witii raw materials would have compelled
till' exercise of all human energies for self-support, yet, as
one of the chief dreads of the authorities was that of un-
thriftiuess in anv jiart of the cummunity, its rule-^vas sc\ere
in exacting industry and punishing idleness. A vagrant, a
spendthrift, a loiterer, " an unfirohtaijlc fowler," an liahitual
drunkard, — of wliich last there were very few, — had before
him as warnings the billiocs, the stocks, the cage, the
stdol of humility, or the lettered badge of disgrace. The
Ciiurt also learned by practice some skill in the arts of
diplomacy. It had often delicate relations with the other
eiilniiies, with French and I)utch, as neighbors or enemies,
with formidable Indian sachems. And this diiilomatic
skill, lacking nothing in intrigue. ])leading. self-justification,
and remonstrance, of its practice among nations and
jirinccs, was brouglit into full exercise, in the relations
iif the Colony to the motlier country. Indeed, it was with
full reason that Charles II. was prompted to object, when
mi'ssemrers of Massachusetts as its agents at his court
hedged and dickered about their instructions, that he could
not deal with them on the fnoting which they assumed as
ambassadors of a foreign and independent power, but sim-
ply as subjects held to (ibcdience.

Folliiwiricr the legislation of the Colony Court into its
workiuL'sand effeets in the towns where it directed, sup-
plemented, or etiforced tlie [lowers of self-government left
to them severally, the town histories, to which reference
has lieen made, give us much interesting and instructive
information. Though many of the pages of those histories

ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE CHARTER. 253

arc similar in their contents and tenor, covcrinj^ the same
strugii-les and incidents of tlie settlements, yet tliey have
several special points in recording conditions and experi-
ences. As the population of the Colony increased, two
principal conditions would regulate their dispersion.
Straggling and canipintr in the wilderness at each man's
pleasure were neither allowable nor safe. The Colonists
did not expect to olitain much of their subsistence by
hunting, but relied upon the savages to gather ])eltry for
them. One condition for a new settlement was, that
families should be near enough in their dwellings to a
common centre to attend on Sabbath worshi|i, and to be
rallied in case of an alarm. The other cdudilioii was,
that each townsman might have, not too distant for over-
sight, his acres of meadow, upland, tillage, and woodland.
It was soon discovered that the soil of the Colony was
neither rich nor easily tilled, nor favorable to raising stock
in the places first occupied. So bottom lands, with meadow
and stream, with falling waters to lie danuned for saw-
mills and grist-mills, were at once desiraijle. The grant
of bounds for a township was mailc by the Court to peti-
tioners, the prime and invarialde condition luiug that the
settlers should have and support a competent and able
minister. Then, partly by statute and partly by usage and
precedent, a partition was established liefween ihi' matters
oi business ami nKinagcment in which the inhabitants of
each town should be left to their own lil)erty and discre-
tion, find those whi(,'h the Cinieral Court still held under
its control. These lieginnings were in all eases severe,
yet were met with firm courage, with patience and general
cheerfulness. The meeting-house and the school-house
were soon raised. The poorest piece of land — generally
a sand-hill, for easy digging — was set apart for a burial-
f)lace, and before a generation rested in it the homes of the
living had been made comfortable.

Tlierc was one sulijcct of Puritan legislation which, for

254 THE PURITAN AGE.

the intcllifront, ponoroup, unci far-lookiiifr s[iirit of the high-
est pulilic iiilcrest whicli iiruiiijitcil it, has ever since been
reLTiii-ded as largely redeeming tiieir administration from
tile hiudi'n of rcproaeh for its narrowness and austerity.
It is (he ordi'r of tin' (icncral Coiiit nf No\emher, liJ47,
providing for what has sinee lii.'en known as tiie system
of common schools, to lie HiipfiortccI hy pui)lic charges in
every miniicipalit}'. Tiiis single pi'o\ision, Imwever, is Init
suggestive of a general and comjirehensive characteristic
anil distinction of the Puritan polity and principles. lie lias
been but a suiierlicial reader of the form and dcvelofiment
of Massachusetts Puritanism who has not penetrated to
tlie evidence of the fact that that Puritanism, both in its
secular and its religious principles, jirovided some self-
restraining, self-corrective agencies and intiuences whicli
were constantly reducing its bigotry and harshness. Puri-
tanism provoked and engaged a vigorous activity of the
intellect, a constant, teasing, restless in(|uisitivcness of
the spirit, sure to result in variances, protests, and even
eccentricities of individualism in opinion. There was no
torfiidity of conscience or of mind possible under it. It
followed as a matter of course that even those of ordinarv
mental vigor and of average ability who were constantlv
taught and exhorted by the pulpit, and in ]irivate confer-
ence, on subjects which engaged their best thoughts and
feelings, should occasionally find questioning, doulit, dis-
sent, arising within them in their efforts to digest and
assimilate tlie instruction offered to them. Those of a
bolder or more acute activity of the reasoning faculties
would venture into the regions of speculation, and often
bring themselves dangerously within tlie borders of jiercsv.
S(i we find by careful seareli that the so-called J^ilieralism,
or Ilationalisin, which is gi'iieralh' represented as coming
to its full and liold deNclojiment in Massachusetts onlv near
the opening of the nineteenth century, had been working in
jiicparalory [ihases and stages of individual freedom and

ADMINISTRATION UNDER TIIE CHARTER. Zbo

enlargement of opinion from tlie first age. The dissenting
or heretical subjects of Puritan discipline, with whom the
future pages of this volume are so largely to deal, will
abundantly illustrate this assertion. The lionorcd and
able magistrate, Mr. Pynchon, was tlie first in tlic un-
broken line of iieretics here on the Calvinistic doctrine
of the Atonement. Had the Puritans smiglit only to se-
cure unifi.innity of 0]iini(in, they WDiild liave favored slug-
gishness rather than a restless activity of mind. In all
that they did for the promotion of common schools and
for the higher stages of education tliey wci'e offering not
only the means, but the temptati(jn for the vigorous testing
of tlieir own ]irinciples.

More tlian tliirty years after tlic Cullcge and th(> enm-
nion schools of Massacliusctts, with the print iii'/ press at
t'ambridge, had begun their eniigliteniuL'' work, Sir Wil-
liam Berkeley, the tJovernor of Virtrinia, witii ililTerent
suijjects, materials, and objects in view than tlmsc which
engaged the Puritan legislators, had written to the Com-
missioners of Foreign Plantations in Ijondiin : —

•' I thank fiod there are no free scliooi.s nor printing, and I
hope we sliall not have thi'se hundri'd years ; for learnin;; has
brought disobedience into the world, and printing; has divid^cd
them and libels against the best goveriiiiieuts. God keep us from

both : "

But the founders of Massachusetts did not wait till
the date of the order of lti47 to show tlieir zeal for the
interests of education. What that order was designed to
effect had been substantially long before antici[)ated. Be-
sides the College, dating from ltj3(), the Boston Latin
School, from Itio.'), and the Roxbury Liitin School, from
1G45, there had been more or less care taken in most of
the towns, either l)y "dames'" schools, or by "grammar"
teachers, and in every home, for the elementary training
of children. One year before the order of 1047, — namely,

25G THE PUIUTAN ACE.

in Ndvriiibcr, 1040, — wc find on the Records the follow-
iiit:; entry : —

" Tliis Ciiurte, bc-iug seii.sibli; of tlic necessity and singuler use
of f,'ouil litLTiilure in luiiiiugiiiy tlic things of greatest concernment
in tile cDniMjonwi'aitti, us also perceiving the fewness of piorsons
accomplished to such itnploymeuts, especially for future times,
have thought meete to propose to all and every of our reverend
elders and brethren that due care be had from time to time to
improve and exercise sucli students, especially in divinity, as
through the good hand of God may issue forth of the colledges,
that so, for want of im]doyment or maintenance, they be not forced
from us, and we left destitute of help that way : to all which in-
tents and purjioses every ehurcli which hath but one officer, and
can conveniently bear the charge of such schollcr (which we hope
most may do), is hereby desired to request a pore schoUer to be
helpful to their officer, that so they may improve their gifts, and
the church have some proof of them against times of neede." '

Bnt College and Latin scliools, with their special purposes
of providing for the succession of the ministry, would ha\e
had hut unrewarding suhjects of tlieir care among an igno-
rant stock of common jieople ; therefore provision of the
broadest and most eomprelicnsive cliaractcr must be made
fur the education of every child growing up in the juris-
diction.

The prcamblo of tlie order now to be cojiied arrests our
attention by its iiuaintness and ]Kiint, as follows: —

" It beini; one eliiefe project of that ould deluder, Satan, to keepo
men from the knowledge of the Scriptures, us in former times by
keeping them in an uiiknowne tongue, so in these latter times by
pcrswading from the usi- of tongues, that so at least the true sence
and meaning of the originall miglit be clouded by false glosses of
Saint-seeming deceivers, that learning may not be buried in the
grave of our fathers in the church and commonwealth, the Lord
assisting our endeavors ! "

' Rcrords, ii. 167.

ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE CHARTER. 257

The Court does not cite any "Scripture" as a warrant
for attributing to "that ould dcluder " the particular form
of malignity here ascribed to him. lie certainly has found
no difficulty in communicating with men in all known lan-
guages, and this may be an illustration of the truth that
when any one has acquired a bad reputation he may be
charged with mischief which he never did. But in its toucli
of satire the Court struck at the " deluder " through the
Roman Church as an alias. The order proceeds : —

" It is therefore ordered, tliat every towne.ship in tliis jurisdic-
tion, after the Lord hath inrreaseJ them to tlie number of fifty
householders, shall tlien forthwith appoint one within their towne
to teach all such children as shall resort to him to write and reade,
whose wages shall be paid either b_v the parents or masters of such
ohddren, or by the inhabitants in generall, by wav of supply, as
the major part of those that order the prudentials of the towne
shall appoint ; provided tliose that send their cliildren be not
oppressed by paying mueli more than they can have them Uiught
for in other townes : and it is further ordered, that wiiere any
towne shall increase to the number of one hundred families or
householders, they shall set up a grammer schoole, the master
thereof being able to instruct youth so farr as they may be fited
for the university, provided that if anv towne neglect the pi'rform-
ance hereof above one yeare, that every surli towne shall pay five
pounds to the next schoole till they shall performe this order." '

This order was followed by others from time to time,
making it compulsory upon all parents and masters to send
tlieir children to school, and investing town officers with
authority to enter houses to see that tlie requisition was
comfdicd with. The records of many towns in the early
vears of poverty and liardship show liow faithfully this
order was obeyed. And there are cases of the interposi-
tion of the authorities when it failed of its purpose, under
peculiarly difficult circumstances. Yet compliance was al-
ways insisted upon, with penalty for neglect.

' Records, ii. 203.
17

258 THE PLTRITAN AflE.

We niiL^lit almost condono the uiifronial and melancholy
act (if Puritan legislation in forhiddinjf tlic observance of
Christmas, by offsetting it with the occasion for fun, rail-
lery, and satire which the act lias furnished for so many of
later generations, including some of the descendants of the
Puritans. Of CDurse tlicir anli|iittli\' to tlic oliser\aiice of
that and of like C'liurcii days had been formed in Eng-
land,' and concerned wholly tlic extra Scriptural and
ecclesiastical usage which had de\iscd thfin, ami liio ex-
cesses of jollity, revelry, and wild indulgence, wliich, as
we read, caused all the jails of the kingdom to he more full
on the day following Christmas than on any other day of
the year. In tlie view of the Puritans the mission of the
Saviour, to rescue the elect few out of a doomed and dying
race, was too grave a one to be in any way associated with
mirthful observances, and a serious cidebratinn of it would
not liave attractions for those not in sympathy with them.
IScforc quoting from the Records the order aliout Christ-
mas, our attention may be drawn to the date of it, whicli
was in Jlay, lt)59. This being nearly thirty years after
the first settlement of the Colony, we might wonder why
they had so long delayed to bring their legislation to bear
on a matter about which Puritan antipathy was so strong.
The cxjtlanation may be found in reminding ourselves that
the space of time whicli had elapsed since the settlement,
and the coming in of new elements of jiopulation, — sailors,
transient residents, and otliers with strong attachments
to tlic ways of their old home, — had introduced practices
which had begun to occasion alarm. The order already
{lartially copied is as follows: —

" For prevcntin;; (liKordcrs ari.sin;; in .sovcndl ]il;iros within tliis
jurisdiction, liy reason of sonic still observing siicli fcstivulls as
Wfre siipcrstitiously kept in otiipr roiintrys, to the great dislionnor
of God and offence of others, it is therefore ordered by this Court

' Sec ante, p. 109.

ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE CHARTER. 259

and the authority thereof, that whosoever shall he found observing
anv such day as Christmas or the like, eitlicr by forbearing of
labour, feasting, or any other way, upon any such accounts as
aforesaid, every such person so offending shall pay for every such
offence five shillincjs, as a fine to the country. And whereas, not
only at such times, but at severall other times also, it is a custome
too frequent in many places to expend time in unlawfull games, as
cards, dice, etc., it is therefore further ordered, and by this Court
declared, that after publication hereof whosoever shall be found
in any place within this jurisdiction, playing either at cards or at
dice, contrary to this order, shall pay as a fine to the country the
some of five shillings for every such offence." '

Among the demands made upon the Court by tlie Com-
missioners of Cliarles II. sent over here in 1665, to be
noticed later in another connection, was one requiriup
" tliat the poenalty for keeping Cliristmas, being directly
against the lawe of En'jlaiid, may be re[)ealed."- The
Court, however, took time for acting deliberately on this
injunction ; for it was not till after further pressing, and in
May, 1681, tliat it consented that " the law against keeping
Christmas be left out." At the same time the law for
putting to death Quakers returning from banishment was
repealed.^

A suljject for legislation wliieh presents itself on the
pages of the first volume of our statute-books, and has
never since failed to find a place on them, is that relating
to the sale and use of intu.xicating drinks. A candid
reader is forced to admit that there has been no advance \a
any wise and practical measures for dealing with the evil.
The fathers anticipated every device and scheme and safe-
guard and penalty (hat has since been put on trial Ity their
posterity, — with one signal exception. The method of
legal prohibition of the sale of intoxicating liquors through-
out the jurisdiction was never attempted, or even sug-
gested. On the contrary, it is very plain from many sig-

' Kecords, vol. iv. pt. i. p. 366. » Ibid., ii. 212. ' Ibid., t. 322.

260 TIIK PUUITAN AGK.

nificaiit intimations that tlic fathers considered such bcver-
aj^es as not only innocent hut essential tliinfrs, for which
pratitude should he oflered to the (ircat rrovidcr. They
took care that facilities should he offered for the abundant
provisiun of them in all lit times, occasions, and places,
under due oversiLrht and coiiti'ol, always, however, under
alhiwance from tin; (,'ourt for sale at ordinaries, trucking-
iiouses, etc. More than tliis, the Court took order that the
price of beer, etc., should he regulated by its proper strength
of materials used in the brewing lA it. AVe might even be
surprised to notice from multiplied tokens how abundant
and freely distributed in all places were tliese spirituous
beverages, from our earliest days. One must have been in
straits in hard and lonely scenes to have lacked thera. In
accounting for this fact we have to remind ourselves how
soon a brisk commerce was established with the Canaries
and the West Indies, and how well the skill of English
brewers and distillers was appreciated here. It has often
been asserted, that, although liquors were used so freely
in our old times, tiie deleterious effects of them were not
so severe or so common as now. And this lias been ex-
plained by the suggestion that the elders were favored by
pure ami unsophisticated liquors, in place of the poisoned
compounds of our time. While the cases on our records
of punishment inflicted for drunkenness are not as nu-
merous as we might have expected to find them, we meet
with enough of them, — of persons " disteni|>(Ted with
drink," "disguised hy liquor," etc., — to show that tlie
ofl'ence was a grievous one and a rejiriincli, so that the
lienalty often, besides a mulct, drew some form of liumilia-
tion and disgrace.

At first there was a positive prohibition under a h(\avy
fine f(ir lh(^ sale or gift of intoxicants to an Indian,
'i'iie templalion to ofl'end in this particular grew steadily
strtuiger and stronger as the craving and passion for the
stimulant exhibited itself uncontrollably in the savages

ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE CHARTER. 261

from the very first iudulgence, till they would run any
venture, or make any sacrifice, to gratify it. Step by step
the rigidiiess of the prohibition was relaxed by allowing
individual white men, under restrictiuiis of place and
amount, to use the article with the Indians in barter, or
pay for labor or hunting. There is something like a
generous gush of feeling in an older of the Court passed
iu November, 1G44, as follows : —

" The Court, apprelienJing tliat it. is not lit to deprive the In-
dians of any lawfull comfort which God alowetli to all men by the
use of wine, do order that it shalbe lawful) for all such as are or
shalbe alowed license to retaile wines, to sell also to the Indians
so much as may be fit for their needfull use or refreshing." '

There was, liowever, one usage of good fellowslii[i con-
nected with this " lawful comfort," against which Puritan
legislation set itself, as follows : —

"Sept. 1G.'39. Forasmuch as it is evident unto this Court that
the common custom of lirinkin;,' one to another is a meere uselesse
ceremony, and draweth on tliat aliominalile ]iractice of drinking
liealths. and is also an occation of much wast of the good crea-
tures, and of manv otiier sinus, as drunkenness, (piarllini.'. lilouil-
shed, uncleannes, mispence of precious time, etc., wliich as they
oui;ht iu all times and jilaces to bee prevented careful! v, so espe-
cially in i)lantations of churches and common weales, wherein
the least knowne evills are not to bee toll<'rate<i by such as are
bound bv solenie covenant to walke by the rule of God's word
in all their conversation, —

" It is therefore ordered, that no resident or comer into the
jurisdiction, after a week's residence, shall directly or indirectly,
by any color or circumstance, drink to any other, contrary to
the intent of this order, upon paine of twelve pence for every
offence." '

Wliether the Court came to realize the unreasonableness
of this rule, or tiie impossibility of enforcing it, we read

' R«cor.ls, ii. 85. » IbiJ., i. 271.

2G2 THE PUKITAN AGE.

upon its Records of May, 1045, " The order against drink-
ing one to aiiotlicr is hereby repealed." '

It is |iossibk' tliat Wiiitliioji may liave prompted the
Court to the enactment against " iicalth-drinking ; " for he
enters in his Journal as early as October, IGoO, '' The
governour, upon consideration of the incon\eniences which
had grown in England by drinking one to another, re-
strained it at his own table, and wished others to do the
like, so as it grew, by little and little, to disuse." Among
his papers was found one in which he sets down two rea-
sons for the passage of a law against " drinking healths," —
first, because it is "an empty and ineffectual representa-
tion of serious things in a way of vanity ; second, because
it is a frequent and needless temptaticm to dissemble love."
It is hardly necessary to remind ourselves that tliis dis-
crediting a mere form associated with hospitality was not
intended to reduce the generosity or cordiality of that
virtue as duly honored among the Puritans.

Much of the attention of the Court was given to a jealous
oversight of the " ordinaries," which became numerous,
and required watchfulness as to what might be done in
them. In May, 1651, we tind the following order : —

" Whereas, it is observed that there are many abuses aud dis-
orders by daunciiigc in ordinaryes, whether mixt or unmixt, upon
mariage of some persons, this Court doth order that hence for-
ward there shalbe no dauncinge uppon such occasion, or at otlier
times in ordinaryes, upon the paine of live shilling for every
person that shall so daunce iu ordiuaryes." ^

Allowance is to be made for what has been before re-
ferred to, in our reading in the Ret'ords of the espionage
practised by the autluirities in checking irregularities ar.d

' Evfii till' siTiijili's of Quakers to like pnn'tiios wiTf soon found to yield.
They hnd n Qiiiikens' " t'olTec House" in London, where tlic formula lictweeii
two fricnils seated at tnble, with tlie niipliancc.', was, " Fricpd, let us wish
each oilier well, and tiko another glubs."

' lIuLords, iii. 221.

ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE CHARTER. 263

indulgences, tliat tliesc came into a threatening presence
in the community chiefly by the visits and transient resi-
dence of strangers. The letter of Governor Endicott, on a
previous page/ is a very suggestive reminder of wliat were
regarded the free loose speech and the contumacious be-
havior of seamen, when brought into intercourse with "the
saints." All the sources of our information go to prove
that among the homes and families of the fixed population
decorum and serious ways and habits were almost univer-
sally spontaneous, or enforced by the best examples.

The Court had made several attempts by statutes and
penalties to forbid extravagance and "bravery" in ap[)arel.
It found an embarrassment in dealing with the subject
in its own necessary admission and allowance that there
were gentlemen and gcntlewonun — not to say an element
of "aristocracy" — in the Colony, witi\ whose class pre-
rogatives it coidd not interfere, but in fact would ratiier
protect. We may copy at some length a law passed in
October, 1G51 : —

" Although several! declarations and orders liave bin made by
this Court agaynsl excesse in apparill, both of men and woemeu,
which hath not yet taken tliat efect which were to lx> desired, but
on the contrary we cannot but to our greife take notice that in-
tolerable excesse and bravery have cre[it in uppon us, and espe-
cially am()n;;st peo[)lc of meane condition, to the dishonor of (jod,
the scanilall of our profession, the consumption of estates, and al-
together unsuteal)le to our povertie ; and although we acknowledge
it to be a matter of much difficuitie, in regard of the blindnes of
men's miniles and the stubborunes of theire wills, to set down exact
rules to confine all sorts of persons, yet we cannot but accoumpt
it our duty to commend unto all sorts of persons a sober and
moderate use of those blessings which beyond our expectation the
Lord hath been pleased to afford us in this wilderness, and also
to declare our utter detestation and dislike that men or women of
meane condition, educations, and callinges should take uppon them

' See anU, p. 146.

2G4 ■ THE I'UIUTAN AGE.

the garbe of >jpntlemen, bv tlie wearing!; of pold or Bilver lace or
buttons, or ])oiiits at thcire knees, to walk in preate bootes ; or
women of the Bauic rank to weare silke or tiiTariy lioodes or scarfeB,
which though allowable to pcrHons of greater estates, or more lib-
erall education, vet we cannot but judge it intollerable in persons
of such like eoudiliou : its therefore ordered by this Court and
the authoritie tlierof, that no person within this jurisdiction, or
any of their relations depending upjion the-m, whose visible estates,
reall and personall, shall not execede the true and indeferent
value of two hundred poundes, shall weare any gold or silver lace,
or gold or silver buttons, or any bone lace above two shillings per
yard, or silke hoodes or scarfcs, uppon tlie penalty of ten shillings
for every such offence ; and every such delinquent to be presented
by the grauud jury."

Still rpcop;iiizinp the difficulty of defining particular rules
applicable to persons of different qualities and estates, the
selectmen of the towns arc required to be observant of the
apparel of persons who exceed their rank or aliility in this
matter, and to assess them at the same rate as those to
whom such luxury is suitable and allowed.

" Provided that this law shall not extend to the restraynt of
any magistrate, or any public officer of this jurisdiction, their
wives and children, who are left to tlieir discretion in wearinge
of apparill, or any settled military, or souldicr in the time of mili-
tary servise, or any other whose education and imployaicnt have
been above the ordinary degree, or wliose estates have been con-
siderable, thougli now decayed." '

One ran scarcely fail to see in this wliolly impracticable
piece of legislation a prudent and strong desire on the part
of the Court to ch(-ck and interdict those manifestations
of folly, ini[ii()\idi'nce, and wastefulness which struck at
the security and |)rosp('rity of the still struggling Colony.
The effective way of dealing with the excess aimed at
would have been for those who were exempted from the

' Uocorils, iii. 'Jlli, 241.

ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE CHARTER. 265

restraint of the law to have set a better example. The
incipient democracy of the Colony would not brook the
class favoritism allowed by the law. Indeed, in this ex-
emption and immunity granted to a privileged class there
was a marked relaxing of cue of the former orders of the
Court on this matter of apparel. In lGo9 the Court had
given car to complaints against " lace and points," against
short sleeves, " whereby the nakedness of the arm may be
discovered," and against "immoderate great sleeves, im-
moderate great breches, knots of ryban, broad shoulder
bands and rayles, silk races, double ruffes and cufTes," etc.
Tailors and seamstresses were forbidden to make such arti-
cles, and all who had them were ordered to alter them.^

The Scripture warrant for this prohibition, so far at least
as it concerned women, was Ezckiel xiii. 18.

As late as 1675, amid the distresses of the Indian war,
the Court, in seeking to learn wiiy the hand of God was
laid so heavily upon them, finds this as one cause; —

" Whereas, there is manifest pride openly appearing amongst
us in that long haire, like weomen's liaire, is worne by some men,
either their owne or others haire made into percwiggs, and by
some weomen wearing borders of hayre, and their cutting, curl-
ing, and immodest laying out thoirc haire, especcially amongst the
younger sort, this Court doeth declare this ill custome as ollen-
sivc to them, etc. The evill of pride in apparrell, both for costli-
ness in the poorer sort, and vayne, new, strange fashions, both in
poore and ricli, with naked breasts and armes, or, as it were, pin-
ioned with the addition of superstitious ribbons," etc., tlie County
Courts are charged to attend to this grievance. -

In reading this sjiecimen of curious intermeddling with
matters of female apparel and array, frettings about which
have always been proved utterly powerless, one might be
inclined to forget that more than two hundred years have
passed since the enactment. Many of the articles, atti-

' liecords, i. 273, 274. ^ Becords, v. 59.

206 THE PURITAN AOE.

tudcs, fresturcs, and adonimeiUs described are by no means
aiitiiiuated, but seem to bo before us even in exaggerated
loi'uis.

We have now had presented, generally in the words of
those who prouijited and guided the scheme for the plant-
ing of a Couununweallh in tlic Uay of Massachusetts, the
])rincii)les which they ado])ted for its religious administra-
tion according to the Biblical model. Our fiages will close
with a review of the protracted and sturdy struggle which
the authorities maintained against the King of England in
their baflled effort to uphold their Charter, iu which they
had found a basis for their theocracy. But before that
catastrophe came, the authorities had to contend with a
series of four successive conflicts, which in fact proved to
be warnings and preparatory occasions of that catastrophe.
These conflicts covered all the subjects, claims, interests,
and matters of legislation and administration wliich entered
into the life of their theocracy. The validity of their
Charter and their mode of construing it were brought under
question ; the right of tlic magistrates to deal iu the prov-
ince of religion was denied ; heresies threatening alarming
immoralities were broached among them ; fundamental
principles in their church institution were set at nought ;
and last of all, their exclusive dependence upon the Bible
for light and guidance, and for the formalities of observ-
ance, was greatly discredited.

VIII.

THE BANISHMENT OF ROGER WILLIAMS.

Roger Williams was the first, and, tliroiigh tlic whole
period of tlie theocracy, the most conspicuous person to
come under the discii)luie of both the civil and ecclesias-
tical powers of Massachusetts. Whether that disci|jliiie
was, under the circumstances, harsh or unjust, or whether
a candid review of the facts of the case \\ ill .show that he
unwisely or pertinaciously broui^ht its severity ujidu him-
self, is a question about which the means of formiiitj a fair
and impartial judgment are more e(jni|ilrte than in ni(«t
similar cases that have been confused in their historic nar-
ration. Certainly a full comiiensation has accrued to him
for all that he may have suffered from court and clnirch
penalties, and from exile, in gathering; to thr honor of liis
name the rich laurels of being virtually, thoujrh not liy tlic
tenure of a legal oflicc, the founder of the .^tatc of Rliode
Island, and the great apostle of " soul-freedom," or of un-
limited toleration for conscience and religious opinions.
As to the fulness of the historic material relating to the
subject, it may be said here that, while we find much less
of information and of references in detail to his case in the
Records of the Court than we might naturally e.\[>ect, we
have sidelights from other sources furnishing us exhaustive
and even wearisome reiterations of every particular and
incident in the controversy to which he was a party. His
own letters, the pages of Winthrop's Journal, and the admi-
rably edited and annotated volumes issued by the Narra-

268 THE PURITAN AGE.

pansett Club,' especially those which contain the tracts of
Williams and Cotton on tlie '• IMoody Tenent of Persecu-
tidii," enable us to stand and listen as contemporaries to
the rehearsal of the whole story. And havinj^' this privi-
lefre of liistoric retrosiicct, wc may find a fit and pleasant
prt']iaration for re-readinj; that story in anticipating it by
a summary statement of the aspect and character in which
Williams presents himself to us.

Alike for the noble qualities and for the jictty inrirmities
singularly blended with them, he is to us an admirable and
a picturesi}uely engaging person. He was wholly free of
guile, open, sincere, and of a most generous disposition,
with traits of a childlike simplicity and tenderness. The
resolute front which he presented to those wlio opposed
him in his opinions or his actions liad in it nothing of
ugliness or perversity. He was forbearing and magnani-
mous. Stoutly asserting and holding to convictions hon-
estly and indei)endently formed and resolutely maintained,
his weakness showed itself only in an occasional outflow
of sentiment over his privations, not in any shrinking from
the inflictions they brought upon him. It seemed to be a
joy to him to speak with a yearning affection of those who
he bi'lieved had misjudged or wronged him, and he sought
o[iportunitics to do them kindly and very valuable service.
With him, contention was a strange blending of duty and
satisfaction. Though all the powers of State and Church
were engaged against him in Massachusetts, with many
fretting altercations and the final infliction, — yet not with-
out forbearance on the part of the authorities,— Williams
never had there a single jicrsonal enemy. Ilis spirit was
provocative, and his pertinacity could exasperate, but his
opjionents commended his patience and availed themselves of
his generosity. Wliat strancre contrasts of scenes and com-
panionships his experience and career |)resent to us! How

' Tlii'si' rnnstilvili' six riu.irto voUinics prepared bv tlio nicmljere of the
Cliil>, unJ publuiUcJ in suaiptuouii furui in rrovidcuff, lSOC-74.

THE BANISHMENT OF ROGEU WILLIAMS. 2G9

keenly must he have enjoyed, in his visits to England, his
free and congenial intercourse with such friends as Crom-
well, Sir Henry Vane, and Milton! IIow cheerfully, from
the comforts of English homes, chambers, and food, did he
return to his wilderness haunts, the guest of the savages
in " their filthy, smoky holes," sharing with them the scant
and miscellaneous diet of the woods ! How diligently,
while tossing on the waves of the Atlantic, did he occupy
his long voyage in writing and preparing for the English
press his " Key into the Language of America," being his
Indian Grammar and Vocabulary ! How laboriously, and
with but a haphazard help from the itooks of reference
which he abundantly cites, did he catch and use the mo-
ments out of public business, a scattering hos|)itality in
chamber lodgings, in travel, and by the roadside, to pen his
sharp and often stinging tractates in his controversy with
"Master Cotton"! Of one commodity when in England
we may be sure the voyager took care to provide himself
with a full supply, that is, writing [laper ; for he used very
much of it.

His biographers have lieen numerous and zealous. Each
of them in succession has introduced some fresh errors or
misreadings of the truth, and has added some valuable
helps to our knowledge of facts. His opinions and his
career have been very variously set forth with comments,
with a singular tendency to confuse and subordinate the
most important to the less essential matters of the con-
troversy. His great doctrine of " soul-freednm " appears
indeed in his contention here with court and chureli, but
quite in a secondary relation to other grounds of variance.
Many have supposed him to have been banished for avow-
ing the tenets of the Baptists, and to have been tbe founder
here of that denomination. But when he left Massacliu-
setts he was still, as he had been, a Congregationalist min-
ister, in full accord with his brethren in matters of doctrine.
His views about baptism were especially erratic, and the

270 THE rCRITAN AGE.

Baptist dcnominntinn would liave hut filirrht satisfaction in
chiiniinL' his mcnihcrsiiip, much less liis leadership. Some
two _ycai's after his removal to Rhode Island, Ijccoming
distrustful ahout his hajitism in infancy, he suhjccted him-
self to the ordinance as administered by one Ezekiel IIollv-
man, after which he rcbajitized Ilollyman and some ten
lothcrs. Within a few months Williams had "scruples"
about the matter, as Ilollyman had not been himself bap-
tized when he administered tlie rite to Williams. So this
conscientious man renounced his rebapjtism, and remained
througli his life, free of all fellowships, a '• seeker " for the
truth. Wintlirop, who kcjit anxious watch uf)on the doings
of the imscttled free-thinkers frathering at Providence,
says ' that " a sister of Jfi's. Hutchinson, the wife of one
Scott, being infected with Anabaptistry, and going last year
to live at Providence," induced Williams to rebaptism by
Hollyman, who had gone from Salem. Williams came to
believe that there was no one on the cartli qualified to
administer the rite. No one can be surprised that the now
numerous and respected fellowship of the Baptists crave
the iiouor of so noble a founder on this continent. But
if they accept his own statement of his views he would
seem rather to have discredited the denomination than
to have assumed its leadership.

The birthplace, parentage, and age of Roger Williams
liavc as yet remained in obscurity, and according to such
particulars and inferences as liave been available to his
biogrnpliers, his age when he appears in Boston lias been
variously taken to range between twenty-fi\e and thirty
years. He proceeded from Pembroke College, t'umbridgo,
January, ](i27, as ]]aclielor of Arts, was ordained and
beneficed, but driven from F.ngland and his ministrv, as
he says, by dread of Arelibisliop Laud. lie had known
some of the New England people, but seems to have come
hither by his own prompting. lie arrived at Boston with

' Winlliroii, i. 233.

THE BANISHMENT OF ROGER WILLIAMS. 271

his wife Feb. 15, 1G31, witli tlie repute of being " p;odly."
Wilson, the teacher of the First Church, having gone to
England to bring his wife, Williams says that he was
invited witli unanimity to fill his place. There is no record
of this invitation other than that made by Williams him-
self, and the inference naturally is that he was informally
conferred with on the subject. In a letter written by him to
Rev. John Cotton, Jr., in 1G71,' after referring "to gains
and preferments refused in universities, city, country, and
court, in Old England" because his "conscience was per-
suaded against the national church," he adds that he made
a similar sacrifice in not accepting the proffer of the Bos-
ton church. The reason which he gives for his refusal
is, "because I durst not officiate to an unseparated jteople,
as upon examination and conference T found them to be."
Here we have distinctly brought before us the position
assumed by the Boston church toward the Church of
England, as one of Non-conformity, not of Separation.
Williams was a positive and pronounced Separatist. lie
wished the Boston church to renounce all communion with
the English Church, to liumlile itself penitently for ever
having held such communion, and to forbid her members,
on occasional visits to their native land, to join in the old
worship and ordinances. Williams never yielded, but stood
stoutly by his principle in this, and when he had a church
of his own in Salem, he rigidly exacted a compliance with
it from all whom he admitted to membership. It was in
this antagonistic attitude that Williams introduced himself
to his friendly countrymen in Boston, and it certainly was
an unpromising beginning here of the career of one who
was to win the honor of an apostle of " soul-liberty " and
unlimited toleration. The impressions at once formed of
him, alike of certain winning and lovable personal quali-
ties and of his rigid individuality and pertinacity of opinion,
continued unchanged through his whole life. He never

1 Mass. HUt. Soc. Proc, March, 1871.

272 TnE runiTAN age.

came into genial rcliitions with bis associates an\'where.
He never really identified liiniself witli their jjcneral aims
and interests. As the name " llniscr Williams" appears
on the list of those who took the freeman's oath, some
of the hioj;raphers of the founder of Rhode Island have
affirmed tliat he was tliiis sworn into allegiance ; but that
was another person of the same name, and of quite a
different career, wh(j had taken the oath some months
before the arrival of his ministerial namesake. In his
interview with memlicrs of the Hoston church, Williams
must have disclosed some other of bis opinions ; for
Wintbrop makes the following entry iu his Journal,
April 12, 1631:1 —

" At a court holden at Boston upon information to the pover-
nour that tliey of Salem had called Mr. Williams to the office of a
teacher, a letter was written from the court to Mr. Endecott to
this effect : That whereas Mr. Williams had refused U< join with
the congregation at Boston, because they would not make a pub-
lic declaration of their repentance for having communion with the
churches of England \\hile tliev lived there, and, besides, had
declared bis opinion that the magistrate might not punish the
breach of the Sabbath, nor any otlier offence, as it was a breach
of the first table, therefore they marvelled they would choose him
without advising with the council, and withal desiring him that
they would forbear to proceed till they had conferred about it."

This was a court of (he magistrates or assistants, at
which were present Winthroj), Dudley, Ludlow, Nowell,
Pynchon, and Bradstreet. Two dilTcrent views may be and
have been taken of this proceeding, (tne is, that it was a
iiigh-handed and unwarranted intermeddling of the luagis-
tratical authority with the rights of an indefiendent cliurch.
The other view is — and this finds support in the fact that
there is no entry of the proceeding on the records of the
Court — that it was simply intended as an unofficial remon-

' Winthrop, i. 52.

THE DANISHMENT OF ROGER WILLIAMS. 273

strancc and expostulation with some who were endanger-
ing amicahle relations and the public interests. There is
also a differenee of o|iinion as to the effect of this interfer-
ence. It has been athrmed that Williams was instituted
ill the office of teacher, as successor to Higginsoii, on the
same day on which the letter was written, and also that the
letter stopped the proceedings. However this may have
been, Williams left Salem in season to present himself in
Plymouth, in August, 1631, where he was received into the
church, and assisted its teacher, Ral[)h Smith. Williams
says that while in Plymouth he labored with his hands,
engaged in trade, and companied much with the Indians,
" to gain their tongue," and engage their friendsliip, which
he always and everywhere most happily secured.

The same conflict of opinions and sentiments about him-
self which Williams had excited in Boston followed him in
Plymouth. His guileless and affectionate nature, his sin-
cerity and good purposes, were appreciated, and so wore
his " headiness," his singularity and eccentricity, and his
obstinacy in notions and judgments. He was found to hold
" diverse singular opinions whicii he sought to impose on
others." Patient Governor Bradford and gentle Elder
Brewster speak of him kindly and ho[)cfully, but intimate
some abatements of their sympathy and confidence. Brad-
ford pronounced him " godly and zealous, having many
[•recious parts, but very unsettled in judgment." When
Williams, at his own request, was dismissed from tiie
Plymouth to the Salem church, the letter contained a
"caution." Some of the members being unwilling to
dismiss him, Brewster persuaded them to do so, as lie
feared strife from elements of mischief already working
from Williams's strange opinions. Winthrop says that
Williams was in Salem by November, 1G33, helping Mr.
Skilton "by way of jirophecy," but "not in any office."
This, however, he acceded to in a year, when Skilton died.
He had united with Skilton in November, 1633, in objecting

18

274 THE PURITAN AGE.

to a friendly semi-monthly meeting at eacli other's homes,
of the " niiniHtcrs of the Bay," lest it should grow " to a
presbytery, or suiicrinteudency, to the pix-judice of the
churches' liberties."

It was probai)ly while he was at Plymouth, where liis
eldest child was born, that Williams had written, and
shown to some friends wlio were alarmed by the strange
opinions ex]iressed in it, " a largr Book in Quarto." This
was undoubtedly his treatise questioning, or rather directly
denying, the validity of the King's Patent, under which
the Company held and could maintain its territorial
rights. As Williams's expressed opinions on this highly
critical matter — asserted, apologized for, yielded up, and
then re-asserted — were substantially the chief grounds of
the Court's dealings with him, resulting in his banish-
ment, we must have the bearings of the case intelligently
before us. The "treatise" itself is not extant, as it was
probably burned, either by Williams himself, or with his
consent, by the Court. We know its spirit and purport by
the references to it, and by quotations from it. Williams
would himself be very ready to show and discuss \^ith
others any product of his busy brain, and would be sturdy
in defending it, however erratic tliry might regard it.
After he had returned to Salem it became noised aliroad
that he had written such an alarming treatise, and it
was at an anxious crisis for the colony, as then dreading
interference with its affairs from abroad, when every
scruj)le was a bombshell, and every breeze was a gale.
Winthrop, hearing of the " treatise," sent to Williams
for a copy. The fJovernor and Assistants at a meeting,
Jan. G, 1634, — not an official one, as it is not entered
on the records, — perused and criticised it. The Gover-
nor reports it to us, fur its matter and tenor. He savs
the treatise was " formerly written to the governor and
council of Plymouth : " ' —

> Wintlirnp, i. 122.

THK BANISHMENT OF ROGER WILLIAMS. 275

" 'Wl)erein, among other tilings, he disputes their right to the
lands they possessed here, and concluded that, claiming hy the
King's grant, they could have no title, nor otherwise, except they
compounded with the natives. For this, taking advice with some
of the most judicious ministers (who much condemned Mr. Wil-
liams' errour and presumption), they gave order that he should be
convented at the next court, to be censured, etc. There were
three passages chiefly whereat they were much offended : ] . for
that he chargcth King James to have told a solemn publick lye,
because in his patent he blessed God that he was the first Christian
prince that had <liscovered this land ; 2. for that he chargeth him
and others with blasphemye for calling Europe Christendom, or the
Christian world ; 3. for that he did personally apply to our present
king, Charles, these three places in the Revelations, viz — "

We are able to supply tlie blank which follows the
abrupt close of tlic Governor. Endicott, one of the Assist-
ants, a member of Mr. W'iUiams's church, not bcinji fires-
ent at this meeting of magistrates, the Governor, a week
after the meeting, wrote him a letter, which has come to
light.' This letter adds a fourtli grievance against Wil-
liams : " 4. for concluding us all heere to lye under a
6inne of unjust usurpation upon others" possessions." The
references to the Revelations are also supplied as follows:
Chaps, xvi. 13, 14 ; xvii. 12, 13 ; and sviii. 9. Tlicse
passages have no significance here except as admirably
illustrating that Puritan usage in quoting Scriptures
which have no conceivable cunnection with the matter in
hand.

A doubt might reasonably be raised whether Roger Wil-
liams had ever read with intelligent studv and careful
reflection the original Charter of James I., so impertinent
appear his strictures upon those terms of it of which he
complains. We have only by anticipation to look forward
to his maturer life of experience, and converse with men
vf pronounced wills and individuality like his own, to find

' Mass. Hist. Soc. Proc, February, 1873.

27G THE PURITAN AGE.

liiui, tliiity yrurs later, [ictitionirif; for, welcoming, and
holdiiif;; scveial ofliccH under a royal charter fur Rhode
Island, jrranted under precisely the same terms and con-
ditions as those of tlie Bay Charter. The King of England
did not chiini an atjsol'ute, hut only a lelative, ownership
and power of disposal (jf the territoi-y granted here. His
gift to those who received it was limited liy the conditions
under which he claimed to hestow it. By the law of na-
tions as then recognized, the fact that English navigators
had first sighted the coast of newly-discovered land gave
to the monarch whose suhjects they were a right to it
above that of other sovereigns. His grant of a jiortion of
it to an incorporated company of his suijjccts was good
against the trespassing of any other Englishmen upon it,
and against the inimical intrusion of the suhjects of any
other European munarehs. Any usufructuary rights of a
people actually resident upon or claiming the territory,
even though they were heathen, were to be recognized and
fairly adjusted. The most grievous charges of Williams
are that against James I. of telling " a solemn publick lye"
in his Patent, and that against James I. and Charles I. of
" blasphemye," for calling Europe " Christendom, or the
Christian world." Winthrop writes respecting "the grande
Patent," that it might contain the ground for such charges,
but "for my parte 1 never sawe it, and 1 doubt whether he
[Williams] did or not." ^ That Winthroji had reasons for
doubtitii; whether Williams had ever seen James's Patent,
appears from the fact that liis charge of a '' lye " against
the monarch is ba.sed upon his assuming " to have been the
first Christian prince that discovered New England." But
the Patent makes no reference whatever to this discovery ;
and in neither of the patents is Europe spoken of as
" ( "hristendoni."

All (hat is pertinent to the matter fit issue is found in
the following extract from the Patent of .Tames I. : —

' Mas.s. Hist. Si)0. Proc, February, 1873.

THE BANISHMENT OF HOGER WILLIAMS. 277

" Forasmuch as We have been certainly given to understand by
divers of our good Subjects that have for these many Yeares past
frequented those Coasts and Territorves between the Degrees of
Fourty and Fourty-eight, that there is noe other the Subjects of
any Christian King or State, hy any authoritie from their Sover-
aignes, Lords, or Princes, actually in Possession of any of the
said Lands or Precincts, whereby any Right, Claim, Interest, or
Title may, might, or ought by that means accrue, belong, or
appertaine unto them, or any of them. [The Patent then men-
tions the recent devastations by war and pestilence, which have
left the territorv for manv leaEfues together without inhabitant or
claimant, thus marking the fit time for improving land so depop-
ulateil.] In Contemplacion and serious Consideracion whereof
Wee have thought it titt. according to our Kingly Duty, soe much
as in Us lyeth, to second and followe Cod's sacred Will, rendering
reverend Thanks to his Divine Majestic for His gracious favour
in laying open and revealing the same unto us, before any other
Christian Prince or State, by which !Meanes without Offence, and
as We trust to his Clory, Wee may with Boldness goe on to the
settling of soe hcyjefull a Work," etc.

T}ie jiroviso, recognizing any riglitful claims of other
nationalities, is thus stated : —

" Provided .always that any of the Premises herein before men-
tioned, and by these Presents intemied and meant to be granted,
be not actually possessed or inhabited by any other Christian
Prince or Estate." '

Williams went to the whole length of affirming that the
King's Patent gave the colonists no right to their territorv,
" but that the Natives are the true owners of it," so that
the colonists had coniinitted the " sinne of unjust usurpa-
tion upon others' possessions." The right course, there-
fore, for the trespassers to pursue was to repent of having
acted under the Patent, to restore it to the King, to aban-
don the territory, and to return to England. What con-

1 Hazard's Hist. Coll., i. 103-118.

278 THE PURITAN AGE.

sequences would have ensued on the adoption of tliese
notions of Mr. Williams wo may take note of in a moment,
after a reference to tlic course pursued as to any riglitful
claims of the savaf^es that might ite found here. It is to
he frankly admitted that none of the Euro[)ean cohmists
to America — Spanish, French, or English — Ijad any gen-
erous allinvance for the rights of the aljorigines whom they
found either residing upon or roaming over [larts of this
continent, or any delicate scruples about crowding or dis-
placing them. Their aimless and wasteful lives, tljeir
roaming over and transient occupancy of vast spaces of
fruitful territory, — which they skimmed for a suljsistcnce
without enriching by labor, — their cruel wars with one
another in their tribes, and their general state of barba-
rism, were regarded as good reasons for their giving jilace
to a superior race. But the kings in their patents by no
means assume(], nor did the colonists settling under them
act on the assumption, that these barbarians had no natural
rights. It was not long before the English colonists came
to understand what estimate the Indians themselves had
of those rights as implied in the deeds and covenants
which they made with the whites. We learn what it
was which tliey ct)nsidercd as beli,)nLring to them, and tiie
value which they set upon it, when we know what they
supjjosed they were deeding to the whites for a considera-
tion. In general, the savages in these transactions appear
to have suf>posed that they were granting to the whites a
privilege of joint occupancy of a territory with themselves,
for the various uses of tillage and hunting. They had no
idea that the\- themselves were to move ofl' at a distance
williiiut any reserved rights. The ciim|ilaint of King Philip
against the people of I'lymouth was, that by building fences,
dams, (■!<■., the whites maile the land deeded to tiuMU un-
availaiiie for equal [irivileges to the Indians. Indeed,
instanees were not infreciuent in which a sachem in behalf
of his trilie deeded the same portions of territory to more

THE BANISHMENT OF ROGER WILLIAMS. 279

than one party, as if he thought that they might all put it
peacefully to the same uses which had served him. As
to the relations between the Indian ])rofirietors and the
English colonists whom Williams charged with an usurpa-
tion of their rights, the facts of the case did not at all
trouble the consciences of the latter. It is true that wo
lind them laying much stress upon the opportunity of
entering here upon a vacuum domicllium, — a large ter-
ritory wasted and cleared by pestilence. And their faith
was ciieered by the belief that Providence had so disposed
the matter for their benefit ; yet they by no means were
indilTercnt to the rights of tlic few scattered and liumbled
natives in their neighborhood, but sought in every case to
satisfy them. Before the transfer of the government here,
the Governor of the Company, writing from London to
Endicott, their agent in Salem, instructed him tlius ; " If
any of the salvages ]iretcnd right of inheritance to all or
any part of the lands granted in our pattent, we pray you
endeavour to purchase their titylc that we may avoyde the
least scrufile of intrusion." ' Tiie instruction was strictly
followed.

Mr. Williams was not a man to be deterred or appalled
by a view of the consequences which would follow from
any course of action which his conscience set before him as
right. But one may doubt whether he had deliberately
recognized the inevitabli; results which would ensue here if
his views as to the iniquity and worthlessness of the Pa-
tent, and the obligation to suri'ender it, i-ecommended them-
selves to the authorities for adoption. Desolation, ruin,
and anarchy, with spoliation and free plunder, the prostra-
tion of all proprietary rights and of all securities for life,
would be the inevitable issues of the baffled eflorts and
sacrifices for planting a colony on the edge of a wilder-
ness. There were enemies and mischievous plotters near
the Court at home, and a threatened revocation of the

1 Court Records, i. 394.

280 THK PURITAN AGE.

Charter. Tlie crude and speculative fancies and impulses
of this visionary young divine miprht insure for the colony
the ruin which inipcrilled it. Jsor docs it seem to have
occurred to Williams tliat he was a consenting yjarty to,
and a profiter by, the wrong and outrage which he charged;
for he himself owned a house ami ten acres of land in
Salem, which he mortgaged on leaving there for Rhode
Island. By a touch of humor rare in tlic [)ages of Win-
throp, it appears that the Governor took note of this fact.
In his letter to P^ndicott he writes, " But if our title be not
good, neither by patent, nor possession of these parts as
vacuum domicilium, nor by good liking of the natives, I
mervayle by what title Mr. Williams himselfe holds."

After the Court of Assistants, as above related, had had
the conference with Williams about the contents of his
" treatise," and Endicott, at the request of Winthrop, had
'• dealt with " him, in confutint: his errors and inducing
him " to retract the same," WintJirop writes : —

"Mr. Williams also wrote to the governour, and also to him
and the rest of the counril, very submissively, professing his in-
tent to have been only to liave written for the private satisfaction
of the governour, etc., of Plymoutli, without any purpose to have
.stirred any further in it, if the governour here had not required a
copy of him ; withal offering his book, or any part of it, to be
burnt. At tlic next court he appeared penitently, and gave satis-
faction of his intention and lo3alty. So it was left, and nothing
ilone in it." '

It is evident that Winthroi» thought this a final and amica-
ble disposal of an alarming matter.

We must pause a moment here upon a jjoint raised by
rtiortv tiian one of the friendly biographers of Williams.
They charge it as an intrusive and inijuisitorial jtrocceding
on the [lart of the magistrates in summoning Williams to
produce before them, as from his [)rivatc desk, an unpub-

1 Wiiilhri.p, i. 122.

THE BANISHMENT OF ROGER WILLIAMS. 281

lisbed manuscript which he had penned for the satisfaction
of a few friends, and had not intended to send abroad. In
the pages of some writers, who in reviewing the conflict
of the authorities of Massachusetts with Roger Williams
have shown their favor toward him hy attempting to put
those authorities iu the wrong, a[)pear aspersions or charges
in substance as follows : The assumption is taken that the
paper whicli he had written invalidating the patent, with
its alarming notions, had never really been made public by
him. It was not much more than a speculative, tentative
essay on the subject, written by him for self-satisfaction,
and still kept in the privacy of his own repository, except
so far as he had shown it confidentially to a few friends in
the same privacy of intercourse. The implication there-
fore has been drawn, that there was something underhand,
something of artifice in the ingenuity used in ritiing and
forcing that private paper into the light and making it tiie
subject of public excitement and remonstrance. From the
facts of the case which have been presented, the reader
must judge whetlier there are grounds for that imputation.
He must remind himself, however, that at that time im-
portant papers, whether expository or controversial, were
often copied — in lack of the ])ress — and pi'ivately handed
from one to another interested party. And he must also
remind himself that if Williams by confidentially submit-
ting his paper to a few chosen men had thus exposed his
sense of its inflammatory character, the authorities on their
side would have been all the more alarmed by the secrecy
under which the mischief might work, compared with the
effect of its open and stout avowal. To them the differ-
ence would have been that between the sinuosity of a snake
and the ferocity of the wolf. All that can be said in an-
swer to this charge is that Williams had furnished Win-
throp at his own request a copy of the " treatise," and that
the common bruit of its tenor must have originated in the
shock which it had given to those of Plymouth who had

282 THE PURITAN AGE.

seen it and been greutly troulflcd hy it. Tlic fact that
Williams had thus jruardedly passed tlic " treatise " only
tiiroiiiih private hands, might he alleged as proving that he
was himself aware of its inflammatory character.

It was plain that the Court had not come to a full knowl-
edge of the 8|)irit of the man with whom they had to deal,
when they supposed tlic matter disposed of. Williams was
a man of that self-assertive and antagonistic frame of sfiirit,
that a nursing and brooding over any unfair restraint im-
posed u])on his mental freedom would stir him to a fresh
assertion of it.

The Court of Assistants met again in Boston, Jan. 24,
1G34, to consider Mr. Williams's letter to them above
mentioned —

"when, with the advice of Mr. Cotton and Mr. Wilson, and weigh-
ing his letter, and further considering of the aforesaid offensive
passages in his book (which being written in verv obscure and
iaiphcative phrases, might well admit of doubtful interpretation)
they found the matters not to be so evil as at first they seemed.
Whereupon they agreed, that upon his retractation, etc.. or taking
an oath of allegiance to tlie king, etc., it should be passed over." '

We arc not informed whether or not Williams wrote any
further " retractatinn," or took the oath of allegiance.

Before his case was resumed, two pleasant little incidents
interf)ose themselves in our grave annals, which must have
engaged some lively interest. The first was about " a
question raised on Lecture-day at Boston," as to whetlicr
it was tlie duty of women to veil themselves on going
abroad. Cotton thought it was. Endicott, backed by Wil-
liams, thought it was not. The other incident, a more
lively one, was the mutilation id the King's colors by cut-
ting out the cross, as " ididatrous." The deed was done
by lOndicott, at the sujijjosed instigation of Williams.

As a sign of the watchfulness of the magistrates against
' Wiiitiiro]., i, rj;(.

THE BANISHMENT OF ROGER WILLIAMS. 283

any challenge of what they held to be their rightful author-
ity, mention should here be made fif their grievance with
another of the elders. Mr. Eliot, teacher of the Ro.x-
bury church, had blamed the magistrates in a sermon for
concluding a peace with the Pequot Indians without con-
sent of the people, through their deputies, and, as Winthrop
writes,^ —

" for other failings (as he conceived). We took order that he
should be dealt with by Mr. Cotton, Mr. Hooker, and Mr. WelJe,
to be brought to see his errour, and to heal it by some public ex-
planation of his meaning : for the people began to take occasion
to murmur a;:ainst us for it." He was broujlit " to acknowledge
his errour — and so promised to express himself iu public next
Lord's day."

But Williams was not so [diant in the fibres of his con-
science. Winthrop writes. Pec. 7, 1G34,- —

"The Court was likewise informed that Mr. Williams of Salem
had broken his promise to us, in teaching publicly against the
king's patent, and our great siu in claiming right thcrcljy to the
country, etc., and for usual terming the churches of England anti-
christian. We granted summons to him for his appearance at the
next court."

Our confidence in the rigid truthfulness of Winthrop
can alone assure us as to any iircaeh oi his pliglited word
by Williams, for we have no otiier information as to tlie
terms of his promise made in February preceding. But
when the Court met in March following, 103"), there is no
record referring to his case, nor in tlic Uovernor's Journal.
We learn, however, from another source = that Mr. Cotton,
with the consent of his fellow-elders and brethren —

" presented a serious Request to the Magistrates, that they would
be pleased to forbeare all civill prosecution agwinst him, till our-

i ■Winthrop, i. 151. ' IbiiL

• Cotton's Reply to Mr. Williams his Examination, p. 38.

284 THK PURITAN AGE.

solves (with niir Churchefi) had dealt with him in a Church way,
to coiiviiiic him of sinno ; allcdgiiip that my selfe and brethren
hoi)ed his violent eourse did rather Bprinp; from pcruple of con-
science (thoui.;h carried with an inordinate zealej than from a sedi-
tious iirinci]ile."

An earnest effort was made by the elders, -with the af>-
' jiroval of the majri.strates, in this jjacificatory direction, but
not with the desired result.

A new dilTiciilty now arose from the teachinfr of Jlr.
Williams, which caused the Court of Assistants to summon
him May 10, 1G35. The freeman's oath was effective for
securing the allegiance only of that portion of the male
inhabitants of the jurisdiction wlio enjoyed the civil fran-
chise. What authority or restiaint could the Court exer-
cise over those not enfranchised? It appears that the
Court was at this time alarmed by the influx of some
restless strangei's from other parts of tlie continent and
islands. It ]irovided a " resident's oath " to secure the
obedience to the laws, and the loyalty and jieaccful con-
duct of all above the age of twenty years who intended to
reside here for six months or more, and to pledge tliem to
reveal any mischievous plottings. All who should refuse
after being twic(^ called ujxin to take this oath were to be
banished. A slight change was made in the wording of
the freeman's oath. But Mr. Williams had '• scru|ilcs "
which impelled him j)ublicly to preach and to jirotest
against the resident's oath. " Swearing " was in his
view an act of worshifi. A mairistrate, he maintained,
might not tender an oath to an nnregenerate ]H'rson, for
this was to "have communion with n wicked man in the
worship of Ciod, and cause iiim to take the name of God
in vain.'' This was the occasion of a fresh and intense
excitement. It npfiears that the exaction of the resident's
oath was not rigidly pressed. May 30, 103"), tlie Oovernor
(tlieri Dudley, who the next month gave place to Ilavnes)
and Assistants sent for Mr. Williams and charged him with

THE BANISHMENT OF ROGER WILLIAMS. 285

errors in his public preaching. Winthrop says : " He was
heard before all the ministers, and very clearly confuted.
Mr. Endicott was at first of the same opinion, but lie gave
place to the truth."' Williams, however, did not regard
himself as confuted. He was then strong in the affec-
tions and confidence of the church at Salem, which liad
invited him to othce in it while lie was under the censure
of the Court, and while it was being dealt with by the
elders. Tliere was a great " apprehension of his godli-
ness," and women were warmly on his side. Summoned
and appearing before the General Court May 10, 1G35,
we read in Winthrop : —

" It was laid to his charge that, being under (|uestion before
the magistracy and churches for divers dangerous opinions, viz.,

1. that the magistrate ought not to punish the breach of the first
table, otherwise than in such cases as did disturb the civil j)eace ;

2. that he ought not to tender an oath to an unrcf^cncrate man;

3. that a man ought not to pray with such, though wife, child,
etc. ; 4. that a man ought not to give thanks after the sacra-
ment nor after meat, etc. ; and that the other churdies were
about to write to the church of Salem to admonish him of these
errours, notwithstanding the church had since called him to tho
otTice of a teacher. Much debate was about these things. The
said opinions were adjudged by all, magistrates and ministers
(who were desired to be present), to be erroneous and very
dangerous, and the calling of him to olTice at that time was
judged a great contempt of authority. So, in fine, time was given
to him and the church of Salem to consider of these things till
the next general court, and then either to give satisfaction to the
court, or else to expect the sentence; it being professedly de-
clared by the ministers (at the request of the court to give their
advice) that he who should obstinately maintain such opinions
(whereby a church might run into heresy, apostasy, or tyranny,
and yet the civil magistrate could not intermeddle) were to bo
removed, and that the other churches ought to request tho magis-
trates so to do." ^

1 Winthrop, i. 158. » Ibid., i. 162.

286 THE PURITAN AGE.

Tlir reader of our time will not fail to note the perplexi-
ties and encroachments into which the fathers were led by
their tentative and ex[ierimental jiractical efforts in theo-
cratic government. Here were elders consulted indeed,
but in effect deciding the action of a civil court: magis-
trates inlci meddling wiOi church affairs; and besides this,
other churches, each of them asserting its own indepen-
dency,— for as yet no common jjlatform for union, council,
or disciiiline had been recognized, — intruding their advice
and threatenings upon a sister fellowshijj.

But something more questionable and more mischievous
was yet to follow at the same Court. We read it in Win-
throji, as follows : —

"Salem men had preferred .i petition at the last general court
for some land in Marblehead Neck, which they did challenge as
belonging to tlieir town ; but because they had chosen Mr. Wil-
liams their teacher, whilr, ho stood under question of authority,
and so offered contcmjit to the magistrates, etc.,' their petition
was refused till, etc' Ujion this the church of Salem write to
other churches to admonish the magistrates of this as a heinous
sin, and likewise the deputies; for which at the next general
court their deputies were not received until ihey should give
satisfaction about the letter." *

Uerc were indeed new elements of confusion and acri-
mony stirred into a strife already siilTicicntly alienating
and threatening. In its own view this action of the Court
was in part retaliatory, and in jiart an exaction from the
Salem j)eo[ile of a cjuid pro quo, as the Court, luuiug be-
stowed the civil franchise upon the church members wlio
sent to it their deputies, felt justified in exacting from them
an equivalent rcRi)ect. But neither our sympathy nor our
a[i[iroviil can go with the Court in this jiroceeding, which

' Tho.ic *' ct-c., etc.," indicate a mcthinl ^^{ ^Villtll^o]^ in nn inconu'lctc son-
ic rirr-.

2 Wintlirnp, i. 164.

THE BANISHMENT OF ROGER WILLIAMS. 287

has a look of spite and vengcfulness, and which prepared
for it further trouble. Up to this point, for anything
which appears to the contrary, all the variances which
Williams had created might have been in part harmonized,
and for the rest tolerated or condoned as eccentricities in
a thoroughly sincere and well-refiutcd man. But not so
after this action of the Court. It is clear upon the record
that this action justly excited and exasperated Williams,
if it did not also embitter him, driving him into rash or
ill-considered measures for putting himself in the riglit
by putting others in the wrong. The Court attempted to
punish the town of Salem for an act of such of its inhabi-
tants as belonged to the church of Salem. If the town
had a rightful claim on the piece of territpry for which
it petitioned, the afJair should have been left, conciliatorily
to a decision on its own merits, not mi.xi'd with an entirely
independent issue. Resenting the doings of the Court in
deferring action- upon tlie Salem petition, Williams, with
the approval of his church, and in its name, proceeded
to address very sliarj) and stinging "letters of Admoni-
tion " to all the churches of the Bay to which the mem-
bers of the Court belonged, and enjoined that they be dealt
with for an act of "injustice," and for "heinous sin."
These epistles we shall find described in the sentence of
the Court soon to be [)as8ed upon Williams, as "letters of
defamation." Here was material for the most intense
excitement and strife, with agitation and threatened debate
in the separate and the united elements of Church and
State throughout the whole jurisdiction. It subjected
the theocracy to a most severe strain. Only reflection,
with the help of imagination, if we care to exercise them
on so unattractive a subject, can bring before us the
consternation and the minglings of the jiassions of zeal
and resentment with which in the circles alike of the
"godly" and the "profane," these proceedings were ac-
companied.

288 THE PUItlTAN AGE.

The busy occupations, distractions, and amusements of
life, witli tJic newsjiapers and the world-wide intelligence
which fills tbem, however unwholesome may be some of
their iniiuences upon us, afford security against, or relief
from, those morbid and teasing exercises of conference and
discipline which trespassed upon the active duties and tor-
mented the leisure hours of this Puritan community. The
English population in the Bay may then have been about
five thousand, of which one tenth were freemen and church
members. There were twelve organized and a few incipi-
ent churches, and about a score of ministers. I'robably
the threatened conflagration was dealt with as judiciously
as the case admitted. Instead of engaging the direct ac-
tion of each of the churches challenged in Williams's letters
of admonition, some of the elders individually and jointly
took the matter in hand, and addressed themselves, by re-
monstrance, intercession, or appeal, to members of the
Salem church. They succeeded in drawing away a ma-
jority of them from any further countenance of their teacher
in the course he had adopted, though some of them re-
mained steadfast to him. If Williams had been prompted
by the sturdiness of his conscience, and not by temper, in
his comprehensive exercise of a method of ecclesiastical
discipline, one can hardly wonder that the falling away
from him of a majority of his church should have infused
into his subsequent course toward them something that
seems to have been anger and alienation. There had been
an intermission in the session of the Court while the elders
had been jiiivately doing the work just referred to. A
terrific gale and tem[iest had been raging in the Hay on
the 25th of August, and the day following the devastation
was Sunday. It was said that Williams was ill. He
had ofTiciatcd in his place for the last time ; for, instead
of appearing for the service, he sent to his church a letter
to be read by his ruling elder, Sharpe. Winthrop thus
refers to it ; —

THE BANISHMENT OF ROGER WILLIAMS. 289

" Mr. Williams, pastor of Salem, being siek and not able to
speak, wrote to his church a protestation, that he eoulil not com-
municate with the churches in the bay, neither would he commu-
nicate with them, except they would refuse communion with the
rest; but the whole church was grieved herewith." '

The letter itself is not extant, and we know its spirit
anil tenor only fraginentarily, leading us to infer that it
was scorching in its severity. He was thus left what in
modern jihrasc is called a '• coine-outcr ; " and as the ma-
jority of his church expressed penitence for their course
to the other churches, they may ho held to have repudiated
him. For two weeks — on Sundays and week days — he
held meetings at his own house, with a group of ardent
followers. In these meetings he insisted upon iiis renun-
ciation of communion with his own or any otlier clmrch,
and extended his individualism even to a refusal to pray
with his wife, or ji)in in grace with lier at tin; table, because
.she still attended the public assembly.

The General Court met at Carnbridire in Si'ptember,
1635; and now we fmil upon its records ti;c first and the
only reference to these doings of the man whose course for
more than four years liad caused so many vexations. It is
in these words ; —

" Whereas, Mr. Roger Williams, one of the ciders of the church
of Salem, hatli broached and divulged dyvers newc and dangerous
opinions against the auchthoritie of magistrates, as also writ let-
ters of defamacion, both of the magistrates and cliurclies here, and
that before any conviction, and yet mainetaineth the same with-
out retracion, it is therefore ordered, that the said Mr. Williams
shall departe out of this jurisdiction within sixe weekes nowe ne.xt
ensueing, which if hee neglect to performe, it shalbe law-full for
tlie Governor and two of the magistrates to send him to some
place out of this jurisdiction, not to returne any more without
licence from the Court." ^

» Winthrop, i. 166. ' Eecgrds, i. 160, 161.

19

290 TRE PtTRITAN AGE.

Ill' was thus free in his choice of any other ])lace of
lml)itatiuii. lie miirlit go to Plymouth, to the Piscataqua,
or elsewhere on this continent, or return to Kn^-Jand ;
though a frank a\()wal of his ojiinions there might have
brought upon liiin lianlcr measure than he received here.

At thi.s same Court, iMidicott, who had hcen under sus-
pension of oflicc for mutilating the King's colors, after
making a stout kIiow of ojijiosition, was ordered to com-
mittal, but "upon his submission and full acknowledge-
ment of his offence he was dismissed." The ('ourt seems
to have resolved to act decidedly in the wliole matter be-
fore it, for it —

"ordered that if the major parte of the freemen of Salem shall
disclame the letters sent latelv from the tliurch of Salem to sev-
erall churches, it shall then he lawful! for them to send deputyes
to the General! Court." '

They did so. Neither in the interval of eight weeks be-
tween the court.s in wliieh Williams had been summoned,
and the meeting of that in which he was .sentenced, nor in
the five weeks following, did Mr. Williams at all meet the
expectations of the authorities by silence or caution in his
speech. We learn from Winthroj) that at the Court what
seemed like gentle and patient efforts of appeal and remon-
strance were made with Williams. His two letters — the
one " to the churches complaining of the magistrates
for injustice, extreme ojijiression," etc., and the other
to his own church to persuade them to renounce com-
munion with all the churehes in the Bay, "as full of anti-
christian pollution," etc. — were brought lii'f(.ire him. "lie
justified both these letters, and maintained all his opin-
ions." On being offered a month's delay for further con-
ference or disputation, he preferred present decision. Mr.
Hooker, who was a{)pointed to dispute with him, "could

' Iti'corJs, i. 108.

THE BANISHMENT OF ROGER WILLIAMS. 291

not reduce him from auy of liis errours." So he was sen-
tenced on tlie next day.^ Williams afterward wrote of his
resolve at this time,- that he was ready for his opinions
" not only to be bound and banished, but to die also in
New England, as for most holy truths of God in Clirist
Jesus." The date limiting Mr. Williams's departure ex-
pired on the end of November; but as he was reported to
be ill, and on consideration of the season, he was informed
that he might delay till the spring, on condition that he
should not " go about to draw otlicrs to his opinions."
Again we turn to Winthrop, who writes thut in January,
1G3G —

" The governor and assistants met at Boston to consider about
Mr. Williams, for that they were credibly informed that, notwith-
standing the injunction laid upon him (upon the liberty granted
him to stay till the spring) not to go about to draw others to his
opinions, he did use to entertain company in his house, and to
pn-ai'h to them, even of such ptiints as )ie had been censured for;
and it was agreed to scntl him into England liv a ship then ready
to depart. The reason was, because lie had drawn above twenty
persons to his opinion, and they were intended to erect a planta-
tion about the Narragansett Baj', from whence the infection would
easilv spread into these churches (the people being, many of them,
much taken with the apprehension of his godliness). Whereupon
a warrant was sent to him to come presently to Boston, to be
shipped, etc. He returned answer (and divers of Salem came
with it) that he couhl not come without hazard of his life, etc.
Whereupon a pinnace was sent with commission to Capt. Under-
hill, etc., to apprehend him and carry him aboard the ship (which
then rode at Natascutt [Nantasket]) ; but when they came at his
house, they found he had been gone three days before ; but
whither, they could not learn." '

We must infer that there was some interval of time
between Williams's sending word of his illness and the

• Records, i. 171.

' Mr. Cotton's Letter Examined, eto., p. 6.

» Winthrop, i. 175, 176.

292 THE PUrUTAN AGE.

date of liis departure. It is one of the quaint and cliarm-
inu; iliustratiouH of the kindly persoual relations wliich
existed lictwccn \Vintl]r(i|i and Williams, wlio a[j[iear liere
before us as niajristrate and uflcnder, that they must have
had private friendly converse tofjrether as to what the ban-
ished man miirht most wisrly do for the future. Williams
wrote of (liis time, from I*ro\idenee, to Major Mason, in
1070 : —

" Tlmt ever Iionored Governour, Mr. Wintlirnp, privately wrote
to nie to steer mv course to the IS':ihii,'iiiiset Uav, and Indians, for
many high and lieavt-nly and |iublirkc ends, ini-oura:;ing me from
the freeness of the place from any Eiiglisli claims or patients." '

Reminiscences of our childhood's sympathy with " the
Bafies in the Wood " come up to us as we read the pa-
thetic touclies with which Williams refers to liis wilderness
exjieriences before his final conif(jrtahle rest at Providence.
In the letter just quoted he writes Major Mason, " I was
sorely tossed for one fourteen weekes, not knowing what
bread or bed did meane." In his letter to Cotton be says
he was " e.\posed to winter miseries in a howling wilder-
ness." Again, he speaks of " tlie miscrie of a Winter's
Banishment amongst the Baiduuians." Perhaps a I'ecent
writer, sympathizing with the exile in other of his expe-
riences, is too keen on this point when hi' speaks of Wil-
liams on his course as ''enduring hardsbi]is by the way
with which wc might perhaps sym]iathise more if we heard
less of them from the sufferer himself." '- Williaius left
Salem about the middle of January, with at least four
companions; and there are intimations that some of his
friends had preceded him to make preparations for him.
They received the hospitalities of tlie natives at Sowam's
(now Warren), Rhode Island, umler the protection of Mas-
sasoit. Their experiences, probably, were not much unlike

' 1 M.is,s. Hist. Coll., ii. 276.

^ Tlic Knglisli ill Americu (Tin' Piirilaii Culoiiies), by J. A. Doyli', i. 166.

TUE BANISHMENT OF UOCER WILLIAMS. 293

those of very many wayfarers then in those regions. The
excitement at Salem continued after llr. Williams's de-
parture. Three men and eight women stood tenaciously
for his opinions. Winthrop tells us that the Salem churcli
sought advice of some of the other churches whether these
dissentients should he encouraged to form a church hy
themselves. But this was disapproved.'

It is not to our purpose to follow the career of this
firmly independent man in his experiences outside of
Massachusetts. Being kindly reminded that at Sowam's
he was within the then limits of Plymouth patent, he
moved to the fair region on a finer bay, and received a
present of land from a friendly sachem. There gathered
around him, soon and afterward, a strange company
re]iresenting " all sorts of consciences," mrn and women
of strongly marked individualities and ereeiitricities em-
phasized and pertinaciously asserted. Lechford, in 1(342,
descrilios them as "a company of divers opini<jns ; most
are Anaba]jtists ; they hold theic is no visible church in
the Bay, nor any true Jlinisterie." - Tbi' Scotch Presby-
terian Bailey writes: "Sundry of the Indeiiendents are
ste[)ped out of the church, and follow •my good acquaint-
ance Mr. Roger Williams, who says there is no church, no
sacraments, no pastors, no church officers or ordinances in
the woi'ld, nor has been since a few years after the A[ios-
tles. " ■* True to covenanted oliligations, Williams's deserted
Salem church brought its admonitidus and discipline to
bear upon him by letters and committees in his exile, and
finding iiim incorrigible, passed u|iiin him, through iiis suc-
cessor in office, the famous Hugh Peter, a sentence of
excommunication.

Williams in his responsibilities in civil atTairs with his
new fellow-citizens was loyal to bis princi[jles of untram-
melled freedom in '' soul matters." He was, however, in

' Wintljrop, i. 186. 2 p|„in Dualiuy, \<. i1

^ Letters and Jouniul^, ii. 43.

294 THE rUlUTAN AGE.

continual hroiLs ani] voxations witli the inilepcni]cnt minds
and eccentric ojiinions and lancies of the strange variety
among those more or less intimately associated with him
in matters of fellowship, religicjn, or administi-ation. I»r.
Palfrey, in chjsing his judicial review of Williams's char-
acter and career, jiuts much of wisdom in the follnwing
sentence : " Roger Williams was not the first man, nor the
last, to discover that it is one thing to conduct an 0[)posi-
tion, and another thing to carry on a government." '

There has heen much controversial discussion and com-
ment, not wholly free of asperity of judgment, of the
rightfulness, wisdom, and humanity of the dealing of the
Massachusetts authorities with Roger Williams. Nd judi-
cial review or ojiinion concerning it is called for, or would
he in place here, as the single aim of the wi-iter is to pre-
sent each of the leading incidents in early Massachusetts
as e.xhihiting the fruits and workings of the theocratic the-
ory of government. For this purpose the reader asks, not
for a plea, nor an arliitration, hut the facts, as they have in
this case heen laid before him. It appears that the authori-
ties, after the hiji.se of eight years had calmed the more
c.Kcited ]iassions of the quarrel, saw no reason to regret or
blame, or reverse their action in the case. Mr. Williams
made a vovage to ?]ngland in ]ti4o, where he obtained from
the Commissioners of Plantations what is called the First
Charter of Rhode Island. This did not convey a grant of
land, but only powers for governing settlers according to
the laws of England. On Jiis outward passage, nut having
liberty to come to Roston, he embarked at New Yiuk. On
Iiis return he came to Bostiiii provided with a letter from
the Ihike of Noithumberland and t)tbers, seeking for him
a [)assage through this jurisdiction. Of this, an early histo-
rian writes : —

" U[)C)ii the rercipt of the s.'iid letter tln^ Governour and nuiijia-
Irates of the Massucliusett.s fouiui, upon cxaminutiuu uf their

' History of New England, i. 423.

THE BANISHMENT OF BOGEU WILLIAMS. 295

hearts, they saw no reason to condemn themselves for any former
proceedings against Mr. Williams ; but for any offices of Chris-
tian love, and duties of humanity, they were very willing to main-
tain a mutual correspondency with him. But as to his danger-
ous principles of Separation, unless he can be brought to lay them
down, they see no reason why to concede to him, or any so per-
suaded, free liberty of ingress and egress, lest any of their people
should be drawn away with his erroneous opinions." ^

It is pertinent to mention distinctly here two facta setting
forth how Mr. Williams, in the exigencies and perijlexities
encountered in his new home with his unmanageable or
intractable associates, was induced to commit himself to
proceedings very strangely like to those his protesting
against which had caused liim and others such trouble in
Massachusetts, ilention lias already been made of the
fact that in 1(303, after the restoration of the Monarchy,
Williams, with others, was a petitioner for, accepted, and
held many offices under, a charter procured from Charles
II., the terms of which, in its grant of land and powers
of govcrninent, were substantially the same as tliose wliich
he thouglit it so wicked in the Governor and Company of
the Massachusetts to accept from a former English mon-
arch. The other fact leads us to recall Mr. Williams's
course in reference to the freeman's oath, to be taken by
those who iiad the franchise, and the resident's oath, re-
quired of inhabitants not freemen. Within two years
after his exile his restless companions at Providence,
having as vet no patent, led Williams to realize the neces-
sity that they siiould " be compact in a civiU way and
power." He wrote to Winthrop asking advice on a scheme
which lie suggested of providing " a douijle subscription," —
otherwise, two forms of obligation. The one was to bind
all householders, and others wlio should become such, in
active and passive obedience to the orders and agreements
made by the majority. The otlier subscription was to bind
' Hubbard's History of New England, p. 349.

296 THK I'UniTAN AGE.

jdung men and others, not householders, to a like obcdi-
enee.' Witii the omission of tlie oath in each ease, these
subscriptions corres|>oud to the two Massachusetts cove-
nants. In the draft of the oljli^ations as [jroposed by Mr.
Williams, the restriction to "only in civill thing's" does
not appear. It is introduced afterward, llistoiiaiis of
-Massaeiuisetts and historians of KJiode Island will jirob-
ably for all time to come, as heretofore, have two ways of
telling the life story in the former State of the founder of
the latter; but they will alike honor and love the man.

Roger Williams, as the agent of the towns of I'rovidcnce
and Warwick for obtaining a charter, went to England in
Itlol. Wisliing to embark from Boston, he addressed "a
Humble Petition " to the General Court for liberty to come
into the jurisdiction for that jiurpose. He refers to his
banishment, and " the conse(|uenees (bitter Afilictions and
miseries. Losses. Sorrowes, and Hardships)." Yet all
through his " E.xile " he had been " a jirofessed and known
servant'' to this and all the Colonies, '-in ])eace and war,"
averting troubles and mediating with the Indians. He
owns that he is to go as a public agent to the High Court
of the Parliament of England. He asks for civility and
courtesy from tlie authorities, and promises to conduct
inoffensively. He is ready, however, — as he always was, —
to pause on his way and hold a debate with any two or
three of the C'ourt deputed for the jiurjiosc. llis petition
was granted, " provided he carry himself inoffeucively,
according to his promise."^

The wording of this petition and of the answer to it,
fifteen years after the disputations and the sentence of
banishment in the case of Williams, show us that while
time enough had passed for the cooling of the passions
of tiie hour, tlie (>p[iortunitv for matured relleetions had
left both f)arties in the same mood of mind concerning

> 4 Muss. Hist. Soc. Coll., vi. 18G.
5 IbUl., iv. 471.

THE BANISHMENT OF ROGER WILLIAMS. 297

the original elements of the strife. This might serve as
assurance to us that neither of the parties sufl'ered from
reproach of conscience.

How the people of Rhode Island rejoiced in their immu-
nities may be inferred from the nervously worded terms in
which they expressed themselves in a letter to their noble
and steadfast friend Sir Henry Vane, in 1654. " We have
not felt the iron yoke of wolvish bishops, or the new chains
of the Presbyterian tyrants, nor in this colony have we
been consumed by the over-zealous fire of the (so-called)
godly Ciiristian magistrates."

John Quincy Adams, in his admirable Address on the
commemoration of tlie second century after the formation
of the New England Confederacy, pronounced Roger Wil-
liams a " conscientiously contentious man." As 1 heard
the grand ex-Prcsident speak tiiosc words, I renienilier
being impressed by their peculiar ft'licity. More than
that ; as the siieaker, then hardly mellowed, though in old
age, had had full o|iportunity of knowing \\h;it liis own
temper had lieen in public life, I thinirjht there was a rich
candor in tlie description, as it applied as well to himself
as to Williams. Far less fitting was C<jtton Mather's
descri])tion of Williams as "having a windmill in his
head." A windmill must be adjusted by breezes and
points of the compass, as Williams never was. lie never
turned on axis or spindk', though he created a stiff breeze
when it was not furnished for his use. Witliin, he was
tempered for the south wind. The air in wliieh he most
tiirived was not from the sour east, but from the whole-
some and bracing northwest.

In closing this episode in tlie theocratical history of
Massachusetts, it is grateful to recur to the generous and
lovable qualities, tlie friendliness and nuignanimity of
spirit of this signal sufferer, alike for his own conscience'
sake, and from the workings of other people's consciences.
Opinionative, obstinate, mischievous, and truculent as he

298 THE PURITAN AGE.

KlK)\vcd hiinwoU to the authorities, lie never indulged in his
actions a sinj^h; jironiiitiiij,' of spite or malice. The tone of
his correspondence, especially with the W'inthiops, father and
son, is res{)ectful, courteous, and tenderly afiectiouate. We
lia\e farther on to note how the Quakers vexed his spirit
and set him alike with tongue and pen upon a fair match
in the free use of the ei>itlietieal adjectives and the hard
names richly furnished in the English language. But in
his personal argumentative and Scriptural trials of skill,
logic, and rhetoric with others, we meet with no acid or
bitter utterances. Even in his elaborate and most vigor-
ous controversy with Cotton he seems sometimes to bring
his antagonist into the mood of " lovers' quarrels," and to
alternate between pats and spats. Noblest of all was he in
his friendly services for Massachusetts in the quarrels and
wars with the natives, as arbiter and peacemaker when this
was possible, or otherwise as watchful to ferret out strata-
gems and treacheries, and to give wise warning to the
people of the Bay.

In the year 1875 a petition bearing several names —
which perhaps the bearers miglit not wish to be here cofi-
ied — was presented to, and advocated before, the Legis-
lature of Massachusetts, by a member of it, asking the
revocation of " the sentence of banishment against Roger
Williams," passed by the General Court in 1G35. In this
petition the cause of his sentence was said to be his cham-
pionship of " perfect religious liberty." The reader of the
preceding pages must decide for himself how truly that
one delinite and concentrated statement applies to all
the subjects in controversy with Williams. Winthrop
would have laid more strc-ss upon the seditious tendency
of Williams's utterances than even upon his schismatic
o|>inions. Tlic critical aggravation of his offences, which
inflamed flie whole community, was in writing in many
directions his " letters of defamation " of the churches and
their memliers. But however this may have been, the pcti-

THE BANISHMENT OF ROGER WILLIAMS. 299

tioners before the Legislature, and the member just referred
to might, if better informed, have read in the State House,
both in the original manuscript and in i)rint, published by
the Legislature, that their wish had been anticif)ated.

The words which are the most agreeable for a historian in
these days to copy as a close for this subject, are the words
of an Act passed by the Council of Massachusetts March
31, 1676: —

" Whereas Mr. Roger Williams stands at present under a sen-
tence of Restraint from coming into this Colony, yet considering
liow ready ly and freely at all tymes lie hath served the English
Interest in this tyme of warre with tlie Indians and manifested
his particular respects to the Authority of this colony in several
services desired of liim, and furtliiT, understanding how by tho
last assault of the Indians upon Providence his House is burned
and himself Id his old age reduced to an uncomfortable and dis-
abled state, out of Compassion to him in this condition The
Council doe Order ami Declare that if the sayd Mr. Williams
sliall see cause and desire it, he shall have liberty to repayre into
any of our Towns for his security and comfortable abode during
these Public Troubles, lie behaving himself peaceably and inoffen-
sively, and not disseminating and venting any of his different opin-
ions in matters of religion to the dissatisfaction of any." '

Roger W^illiams died in ProTidence in April, 1683, proba-
bly at the age of eigiity-four, showing the robustness of a
wilderness life, active, rough, and full of e.\i)osure. lie is
represented by living descendants. His memory is hon-
ored in many institutions, — as by a beautiful park and an
ideal statue in Providence.

1 Mass. Archives, i. 233.

IX.

MRS. HUTCHINSON AND THE ANTJNOMIAN
CONTROVERSY.

Among the many reasons we Lave for satisfaction in tlie
fading away into the troubled past of the old polemical
and sectarian bitterness of religious controversy, we may
welcome the disuse of many once familiar terms freely, but
perhaps not even then intelligently, used as the symbols
and technicalities of strife. Tiie pulpit and the theological
ti'actate made these terms vernacular to classes of persons
ill various grades of life. Recourse must now be had tn an
unaliridged dictionary to learn their meaning. True, the
tricks and mysteries of the stock-exchange and the politi-
cal campaign have brought into use catchwords and vul-
garisms by no means self-interpretative, and which may in
some future age reijuire a glossary to e.\i)lain them : liut
these ])iipular catchwords are short, generally of a single
syllable, though intimidating, as "bears" and "bulls."
The technicalities of tlie old polemics ran into words of six
and even sevt'u syllables. Fredestinarianism, Solifidian-
ism, Sujiralapsarianism, and Antinoniianism, and how maiiv
more like terms, representing the mastodons and mega-
theriums of a fossilized |iast in polemics, when brought
under e.xliiliition or study need tn have labels in current
speerii to explain them. It might even be that some liapv-
liazard reader, eatehing under liis eye this formidable word
'• Aulinouiianisni," may ha\r supjiosed that it had some-
thing to do with till' drug callcil antimony.

As a fierce and l)iltir controversy, defined under that
iiard word, came very near to wrecking into total ruin with

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVERSY. 801

shame and passion the infant cohiny of Massachusetts, we
must put the word into a modern interiiretation. The
frights whieli it caused were in part bugbears, but in part,
too, actual moral and social jieriis. It is only by trans-
lating the jargon of j>olemics into plain ethical terms that
we can reach the vital centre of that bitter strife.

To the stern and earnest Christian of the Puiitan age,
the most solemn and momentous tjuestion for his brooding
thoughts, to be asked of any one who could help to answer
it, was this: " IIow shall a man be justified with Ood," —
put into right relations with God, acquitted by discharged
and balanced obligations ? It was admitted that the Bible
alone could answer it with authority. But what answer
did the Bible give to it ? One called the great Ajjostle,
Paul, taught them in many scattered sentences, called
"texts," — as Romans iii. "28, v. 1 ; Galatiaus ii. 16, iii. 24,
— that " justification " was to be olitained i)y faith, not by
works, and that iierfect obedience to the " law " was im-
possible for sinful men. Another Apostle, James, afhrm-
ing that " faith without works is dead," taught tliem " that
by works a man is justified, and not by faith only."' Here
then were two covenants, the One of '■ works," the other of
" faitli." To the Puritan, the truth suspended between
tliese two covrnants was infinitely more momentous than
the issue in his day between the Ptolemaic and the Coper-
nican theory of the universe. Seeking still to modernize
the terms and bearings of the controversy, let us use an
illustration.

A debtor is hopelessly overwhelmed by the burden of
pecuniary obligations. Whether crushed by misfortune, or
through his own fault, he cannot discharge his debts, but
is firmly held by them. If he is a man of an lionest con-
science and sound principle his burden is twi>fold. In one
form it is subjection to the rightful claims of others, pressed
demandingly upon him and holding him to their exactions ;

' Jamfs ii. 24.

802 THE PUniTAN AGE.

ill <lip ofhor form it is a fiainful, crushing self-infliction,
^vitll a sense of failure and dismay. In the human and
business relations of sncli a ho[jeless delitor there is a
nietlidd of relief found in the jirocesses of insolvency' and
bankrnptcv. 'J'lie creditors, when having reason to believe
that there is no holdiuff back, no fraudulent concealment,
consent to release the debtor once for all on a fragmentary
payment, leaving him free from tlic obligations of the past,
to try the future. But how of the other part of his burden,
the inner consciousness, with its pangs of nndischarged
and undischargeable obligations, — what of that? Is there
any way of relief from it consistent with conscience and
integrity ? There is one, for a truly upright and pure
man. ]f he feels sincerely and heartily assured within his
breast of a manly integrity of j)ur[)ose, and can ascribe his
misfortune to causes other than wilful depraved self-seek-
ing, he can look up to the light serenely, and feel released
from liis inward burden. Of the sincerity of this inward
process the creditors cannot judge ; they can have no cer-
tain knowledge of it. The debtor alone is his acquitter or
condemncr.

We have in this illustration the elements of the religious
problem with which we are now concerned, — the obliga-
tions of a delator no longer to his fellow-men, but to his
God. Accepted doctrine, certified by experience, had as-
sured religious believers that it was practically impossible
for sinful men to be brought into right relations of ap-
proval and acquittal with God, — that is, to be " justified "
by strictly and fully meeting the exactions of His law.
Hut an alternative of leniency and mercy was ]irovided
here. This was in a state of heart profoundly and humbly
conscious of undischarged duty, yet willing and longing to
meet such obligations, and giving a contrite and trusting
spirit as an equivalent. A perfect obedience and full dis-
charge of debts would secure " justification " by " a cove-
nant of works." The alternative of this would be a release

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVERSY. 303

by " a covenant of grace." The latter, if honestly and
sincerely assured, would bring perfect peace, as to a debtor
not only released by his creditors, but quieted by the con-
science within.

Here were two forms and methods of "justification."
Incident to a belief in, a reliance uj)on either of them, and
the availing one's self of the relief afforded, were risks,
possible errors, and perils. One who should try, even
pro.ximately, to meet the exactions of the law, as under
a covenant of works, would find life a constant and un-
ending struggle, through vexations, scruples, and com-
punctions,— watchful at every point, lest in observing one
injunction he should fail of another ; balancing punctilios ;
mechanically faithful even in trifling matters; "praying
without ceasing;" asking a blessing upon and giving
thanks for every morsel of his food, that it might not be
his bane ; keeping in close converse with God, lest he be
unguardedly left to himself; seeking his rule in every-
thing in the Scrif)tures; practising a constant introspec-
tion and reckonincr with his heart ; notinc^ its meteoroldgy
in heights and falls of devotion ; confusing sometimes the
protests of a dyspeptic or bilious stomach with the j)ang8
of conscience ; and attempting to meet the terms of a cove-
nant of works by " sanctification," — by becoming holy.

The other covenant, that of " grace," was beset by many
perplexities and dangers. It is difficult to put into concise
and simple terms the significance of the word " antino-
mianism," as commonly used. Etymologically, it would
signify antagonism, opposition, to tiie law ; but by usage it
meant, without the help of the law, indefiendcncc of it,
and elevation above it. Instead of a relief from obligation
by a compliance witii a covenant of works, it trusted to an
inward assurance of having been brought into right rela-
tions with God, accepted and forgiven, by a gracious influ-
ence of his Spirit. The process and work were wholly
internal, known and experienced and witnessed only by

304 THE PURITAN AGK.

tlir iiiili\ idiiul liimsclf. Tlio' creditors of an insolvent
debtor could not [jossilily have any positive knowledge of
his inteprity of piiriiose. iJiit (Jod, " reading the heart,"
could judge of its sincerity, its penitence, its supreme
longing to he at peace with him. IJut the risks of delu-
sion, <jf enthusiasm, of self-deception, and of apjjlying
flattering unction to the heart and conscience, were the
besetting perils of the Antinomian. lie might Ije tempted
to C(jm]iound for a class of sins and infirmities, and trust
more to the "peace" which he enjoyed in sjiite of thera
than to the fidelity of his struggles against them. All
the abounding and extraordinary forms of scctarism
among the fanatics and enthusiasts that swarmed in the
Puritan age were affiliated with Antinomianism. As they
boasted of intimate private relations and intercourse with
God, they claimed to have individual revealings from him,
— j)romptings of what they should do or leave undone.
Some of them even frankly and boldly claimed immunity
for serious breaches of the laws of morality. None of
them indeed could profess to claim a warrant of Scripture
for an actual contemjit of the methods of ''sanctification ;"
but it seems to have been an open question with the zealots
of Antinomianism how closely they must keep themselves
to the law of " works," though repudiating its covenant as
a whole. They could not fail to note that some of their
neighbors, who sought to make sanctification their rule,
attained only to what is known as ganctimimi/. Oppo-
sition to " Legalism " was only the negative side of Anti-
nomianism. I>ecji sjiiritual exercises and experience made
its positive side. " (Jood works " were the fruits of pietv,
not proofs (if it. A changed lieart would insure holiness:
a form of life might only assume the show of it.

It is grateful to every one who reviews historically the
ensuing controver.sy about Antinomianism in Massachu-
setts, that with the exception of a single case there was
no charge or proof of immoral behavior, of looseness, or

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVEBST. 305

license brought against any reputed disciple of the heresy.
This exceptional case was a very marlccd one. It was that
of tlie redoubtable military oflicer, Capt. John Undcrhill,
wlio having served ^alorously in the wars of the Low
Countries and in Cadiz, coming to Boston with AVinthrop
in 1630, became a member of the church, and Court
Deputy. lie was a man of prowess and a sturdy Indian-
fighter, and as such was to the Bay Colony much what
Miles Standish was to Plymouth. Standish's infirmities
were those of a hot temper, and of using strong vernacular
language. Moreover, lie was never "under covenant;"
but Underbill was. His gross sensuality — the relation
of which by Winthrop illustrates his own guilelessness —
brought him under the severest church jxjnaltics, from
which he secured relief and restoration by protestations
and hypociitical tears. He was a unique and a pictur-
esque offender. Avowing Antinomian princijiles, he had
the front to give the Church tiiis account of his inward
justification; "He had been under a spirit of bondage and
a legal way five years, and could get no assurance ; till at
length, as he was taking a pipe of tobacco, the Spirit sent
home an absolute promise of free grace, with such assur-
ance and joy as he never since doubted of his good estate,
neither should he, thougli he should fall into sin."^

Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, witli lier husband, William, and
their family, arrived in lijston, Sept. 18, 1G34, and her
brother-in-law, Rev. John Wheelwright, and family, arrived
May 20, 1G30. Tlje mention of the name of the wife
l>eforc her husband's by Winthrop is a recognition of her
more prominent position, though lier liusband was in
sympathy with her opinions and shared her exj^riences.
Winthrop, with a j)Ossible bias of judgment, wrote of him
as " a man of a very mild temper and weak j)arts, and
wholly guided by his wife." ^ He was a " mercliant."
Wheelwright, who iiad been a contemporary with Cromwell

1 Winthroji, i. 270. - Ibid., i. 295.

20

306 THE I'uniTAN age.

at Cambridge, and vicar of a church near Alford, was dis-
j)hiccd by Laud far iioiiconfonnity. The avowed purpose
of Mrs. Hutchinson and of some others who came with
her was to renew the satisfaction of enjoying " Mr. Cotton's
ministry." We are reminded here, in \\v\v of tln' large
immigration and tlic infiu.\ of jiersonH of eonstijuence at
that period, that liie colony must have witnessed iiere the
meeting of many jiarted friends who had heiii in close
relations of friendship and religious s\ nipathv in England.
Possibly, too, in some cases the seeds of earlier alienations
may have been transplanted here. But strong and tender
ties bound many of them together, especially those who
had shared in common misfortunes. The young exiled
scholar John Harvard, for instance, whose benedictivc
generosity has been fruitful here for more centuries than
he lived years u]Kin this soil, renewed during his brief
sojourn the fondest associations of his academic life. The
records of the first church show that Mrs. Hutchinson
was admittrd to menibershiii in N\>vemlx'r, 1034. This
was a month after her husliand's admission. The delay in
l)er case is explained by what gives us a forecast of the
agitation of which she was to be the cause. Her fellow-
passenger, Symmes, afterward minister of Charlcstown,
eonimunicatecl to the church the uneasiness he had felt
as to her (ipinioiia and elations of sjiirit, and the " venting
of her revelations," on the jiussage. Her husband became
a freeman March 4, ItwB"), and was at once sent by Boston
as a deputy to the Court. •

Mrs. Hutchinson immediately made herself known, con-
fided in, and hjved, by a steadily increasing number of
intimates, by her kindly services to those of her own sex,
in the privacies of their own homes, in their special needs.
]t seems as if she limited this most intimate friendliness
to the W(unen of her little neighborhoods of Boston; for
while her inlluencc prevailed here on the 0[X'ning of the
(■(uillict, it dues not appear to have extended outside. She

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVERSY. 307

possessed marvellously that gift, from her time onward
of high esteem in New England, known as "capacity."
She could minister to body, mind, and spirit, and had skill
in a comprehensive pathology. Welde, of Roxbury, ever
unfriendly to her, describes her as " a woman of a haughty
and fierce carriage, of a nimble wit and active spirit, and
a very voluble tongue, more bold than a man, though in un-
derstanding and judgement inferior to many women." He
also calls her " the American Jezabel." Though he should
have known her, as before he wrote she was an inmate of
his brother's home, we cannot accept this sliarp judgment
of her. More true and appreciative are other words of
his: "A woman very helpful in the time of childbirth, and
other occasions of bodily disease, and well furnislied with
means for those purposes."' Her services were those of
a friend, not of a hireling. Tlie women revealed to her
their experiences and burdens. As these were matters of
comparison in confidence, it was inevitable that she should
be at the risk of gossip, actively and passively. Maladies
of mind and spirit were more prevalent and severe than
those of the body, under the morbid conditions of life and
thought given to religious questioning and lirooding. The
transition was easy, in these confidences, to free converse
on the hel|) to be derived from the teachings of the differ
ent ministers in sermons, conferences, and lectures. These
soon reached down to matters concerning the deepest se-
crets of one's being. There was a spirit of cheerfulness,
and an evident relief from the sternness of the prevailing
teaching, in the views of Mrs. Hutchinson. She was as-
sured tiiat the consciousness of a Heaven-<Jireeted heart,
and a [irevailing purpose of rectitude, would secure to the
spirit a serenity not to be attained by the formalisms of
piety. She drew a broad distinction between an external
devoutness in deportment, tone, speech, and method of life,
with rigidity and austerity of aspect, and that penetrating

' Vddc, Short Story, p. 31.

808 THE PURITAN AGE.

peace of lieart whicli (■(infuJed itself to divine grace working
witliin. Many of tiie incessant religious meetings were
uf men only. But in those of both the sexes, silence was
the attitude of women, except when relating theii' religious
experience. Mrs. Hutchinson soon gathered aiound her,
first in her own home, and occasionally in tlie homes of
others, groups and coni|ianies of women, ranging from fifty
to near a hundred, who seem first to have occupied them-
selves with doing only more freely and searchiiigly wliat
was done in every Puritan liouschold, — repeating and dis-
cussing the last delivered sci-mon. As she liersclf had
come over to New England again to enjoy the ministi'a-
tions of Mr. Cotton, her preference and strontr approval
of him were very manifest. This proved in the event to
be prejudicial to the general esteem for a time of that hon-
ored teacher. When the conflict arose, he was claimed to
favor and side with certain opinions, and when he afterward
com[ilained of misjudgmenti, and alleged that he had lieen
made a covert and ensnared, iiis exceptions and rectifica-
tions exy)Osed him to suspicions of inconsistency, if not
even of duplicity. As a member of the Boston church,
Mrs. Ilulcliinson could not enjoy his ministrations as
teacher without listening also to those frf the jmstoi- Wilson.
Her manifest and freely exjiressed preference of the preach-
ing of the former, and lier depreciation of that of the latter,
was the entering wedge of the parting controver.sy which
was to convulse the colony. To the keen and watchful
discernment of this gifted woman the two elders had
ado|ite(l and presenlecl two widely contrasted schemes for
the nurture »i the religious life. Tiie teaching of Wilson
covered external observance, deportment, and sanctifving
mcthoils severely exacting; the teaching of Cotton aimed
to kindle II deep heart-piety, calm, serene, and self-assuring.
The rejiorls of her critical judgments expressed with force
and frankness went forth from her meetings through the
tongues oi her hearers, witli a more or less adequate

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVERSY. 309

comprehension of their full sifrnificancc, to be received and
repeated under tlie same condition of risks as to their
intelligent apprehension by those who caught the echoes
of them. Comparisons and jiersoniilitics were the raw
material of strife ; and some persons other than tiie wholly
illiterate began to hear and use words new to them.

At this point, in preparing to follow out the occasion
for tlie intense excitement and even passionate altercations
leading to severe judicial proceedings which were to follow,
it may be well to remind ourselves to what an extent per-
"sonal relations of friendship or alienation entered into it.
This was especially one of that class of controversies which
engage feelings and sentiments more strongly than opin-
ions ami convictions. The discussions and altercations
provoked by the original i>oints of variance soon ran into
abstruse metaphysical and technical foi'ms of expression,
in which it was utterly impossible that the mass of those
involved in them should follow them with any clear mental
apprehension. Of course, therefore, many were parted by
prejudgments and [lersonal {)refercnces between the parties,
and tiiese were respectively led by the most honored and
influential alike of the magistrates, the citizens, and the
ministers. The town of Boston, with nearly all the mem-
bers of its church, came to [ironounce their adherence to
Mrs. Hutchinson ; wiiile the country towns and churches,
with their elders, were almost without exception from first
to last out of sympathy with her.

The public agitation, however, independently of what
came from nmior as to the teachings of Mrs. ffutchinson
in her women's meetings, was 0[icned by other [larties,
wliose ap[iearance and agency we nmst now notice. Win-
throp' notes the arrival here on Oct. G, 1G35, of "two
great ships," with a notable company. The two of these
most distinguished in historic fame for strong traits of
character, for strange careers, and for their tragic fates,

1 Wiutbrop, i. 169.

310 THE rUIUTAN AGE.

were Ilcnry Vane and Hugh Peter, as he himself wrote his
naiiu'. It was just at tlie time when the Court had sen-
tenced WiUianis t<i hanishiueiit. Wintiiroji thus writes of
Vane : —

" Here came also one Mr. Ilinry Vane, son and heir to Sir
Henry Vane, toniptroller of llie kii]g'» lioust, wiio being a young
gentleman of exeelleut parts, and liad been empluved by his father
(when he was ambassadourj in foreign affairs, yet, being caJled to
the obedience of the gospel, forsook the honours and preferments
of the court to enjoy the ordinances of Christ in their jjurity here.
His father being very averse to this way (as no way savouring the
power of religion) would hardly have consented to his coming
hither, but that, acquainting the king with his son's disposition
and desire, he commanded him to send him hither, and gave him
license for three years' stay here."

Of the other noted passenger Winthrop writes : —

" Mr. Peter, pastor of the English church in Rotterdam, who,
being persecuted by the English ambassadour, — who would have
brought his and other churclies to the English discipline, — and
not having had his health these many years, intended to advise
with the ministers here about his removal."

He succeeded Williams at Falem.. Mr. Yonc was ad-
mitted a member of the Boston church Nov. 1, 1635,
within a month after his arrival. It may well excite our
surprise to note liow these two stranjrers at once made
themselves jirominent, hy apfieariiiij and takint: part in a
very delicate matter of variance between the two most in-
fluential magistrates of the Colony. Juiin Ilaynes was
then Governor, but was soon to remove to Connecticut.
Tliere had always been a lack of perfect cordiality in the
relations between Winthro]) and I>uilleY, hut mediation
liad to a degree harmonizcnl them. At this critical time
the variance was again opened. It touched the point that
when in oflice Winthrop hud "carried matters with more

THE A_NTINOMIAN CONTROVERSY. 311

lenity and Dudley with more severity." ^ Factions liad
thus been raised among the people, eacii of the two having
his adherents. Some of the magistrates and elders were
prompted by Vane and Peter to hold a meeting in Boston
for disposing of the matter, " where, after the Lord had
been sought, Mr. Vane declared the occasion of the meet-
ing, and the fruit aimed at, a more firm and friendly
uniting of minds." Vane informed Winthrop of the cen-
sures he had heard of his leniency, which had not come
to Winthrop's knowledge, and with some tender jiathos
pleaded for full accord between him and Dudley. Gov-
ernor Haynes, apologetically, and yet frankly, unbosomed
liimself in referring " to one or two passages wherein he
conceived that Winthrop dealt too remissly in point of
justice." The ever gentle and magnanimous Winthrop re-
plied that he might in some matt<TS have been misunder-
stood. But he advanced as his judgment in general, —

" that, in the infancy of plantations, justice should be adminis-
tered with more lenity than in a settled state, because people were
thei] more apt to transgress, partly of ignorance of new laws and
orders, partly through oppression of business and other strait.s ;
but, if it might be made clear to him that it was an errour, he
would be ready to take u]> a stricter course."

The matter was referred to the ministers to consider
and rc[)ort a rule on the next day. The conclusion and
advice were —

" that strict discipline, both in criminal oflcuces and in martial
matters, was more needful in plantations than in a settled state,
as tending to the honour and safety of the gospel."

Winthrop said —

" he was convinced that he had failed in over-much lenity and
remissness, and would endeavour (by God's assistance) to take a
more strict course hereafter."

> Winthrop, L 177.

312 TFIK PURITAN AGE.

He was soon to Iiavc occasion for tlio exercise of an
austerity and severity not natural to him. We mark at
this point the strenf^thcnin^ in tlie ('olony of a harsh sjiirit
already suniciently strong. The meetinfr Itroke up with
"a renewal of love," and an agreement upon ten articles,
coverinir strictness, courtesy, and formal observances in
Court. The last of these had siiiiilicance for men in a
wilderness who had seen i)ageantry, robes, liveries, and
processions : " The magistrates shall appear more solemnly
in publick, with attendance, aj)parel, and o[ien notice of
their entrance into the court." Vane and Peter were thus
put on a footing with the first comers, and initiated into
Contentions in which they were to take a full part. The
war against the Pequot Indians was now in preparation,
amid many distractions and j)erjilexitics. The leadiness
and heartiness with wJiich Vane threw liini.«elf into the
service of the Colony at this juncture may relieve his offi-
cious engagement in what was to be a perilous contest.

It was not till the end of October, 1G30, when she had
been two years in Boston, doing her works of love and
exercising her gifts, that Winthrop mentions Mrs. Hutch-
inson, and as follows : —

"One Mrs. Ilutohinson, a member of the church of Boston, a
wom.in of a rcaily wit and hold spirit, lirouijhl over with her two
dangerous errours : 1. Tliat thi' person of tlie Holy Ghost dwells
in a justilii'il person ; 2. That no sanctitication can help to evi-
dence to us our justification. From these two grew nianv branches,
as (1) Our union with the Ilidy Ohost, so as a Christian remains
dead to every spiritual action, and hath no gifts nor irraces other
than such as are in hypocrites, nor any other sanctitication but
the Holy Ohost liimself." '

A pause must be allowed here to recognize an clement
which worked effectively and mischievously in the coming
strife. The reader may have noticed that many of the

1 Wilitlirop, i. 2U0.

TUE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVERSY. 313

quotations already made from Winthrop in these pages
end with an "etc." In some cases this sign jjrohaljly indi-
cates a lack of time for the writer to cumplete an intended
fuller statement. In others, it evidently represents an un-
finished action of his own mind, and intimates to the
reader the opinions or conchisions ^vliich the writer would
have reached or expressed. Nor is this all Wintliroj), all
through this controversy especially, and in other cases, was
in the habit uf drawing " inferences " or deductions uf his
own from the avowed opinions of others. There was enough
even in the most clearly stated pro]iositions of Mrs. Hutch-
inson and jier friends to try the faculties and to startle the
apprehensions of those not in sympathy with her. But
when her opponents proceeded to infer other propositions
which they tliought must naturally and consistently follow
from lier premises, they introduced mauy new comjilica-
tions and perplexities in the controver.'iy. Winthrop, as
just qu(jtcd, draws one of liis own inferences froui Mrs.
Hutchinson's expressed ojiinions, evidently intiinlinir to
have drawn more which he had in mind as ohjectionahle.
Cotton (foremost among Mrs. Ilutcliinson's earlier friends),
Wheelwright, and others complained tiiat tiiey were tluis
made answerable for ofiinions and notions not really
chargeable up<jn tliem. Winthrop adds to the above, —
" There joined with her in these opinions a brotber of
hers, one Mr. Wheelwriglit, a silence(l minister, sometimes
in England." It was with him, not with her, that the
strife was to be opened, as Wintlirop dates it, Oct. 30,
163G. The church of Boston was already furnished with
a pastor and a teacher, well-trained and able men, by the
standard of their time, and up to the opening trouble
equally confided in and lieloved.

It now transpired that many members of the church,
having come under the influence of Mrs. Hutchinson and
her brother-in-law, had " propounded " that the latter be
called to office as an additional teacher, Oct. 30, 1636.

314 THE rUIUTAN AGE.

" One of the; church ntood up and said he could not con-
Hcnt, etc." This was undoubtedly Wintliroji. After h'lH
" etc." he give.s his reasons. They were reasons of force
and persuasion. The church was well furnished —

" wilh able ministers, wliose sjjirits tlioy knew, and whose labours
Go<l had bh'sscil in muuh love and sweet peaee, he thought it not
tit (no necessity urging) to [>ul the welfare of the ehurch to the
least hazard, as he feared they should do, by calling in one whose
spirit they knew not, and one who seemed to dissent in judge-
ment, and instanced in two points, which lie delivered in a late
esercise there: 1. That a believer was more than a creature;
2. That the i)erson of the Holy Ghost and a believer were united.
Hereupon the governour [Vane] spake, that he marvelled at this,
seeing that Mr. Cotton had lately approved his doctrine. To tliis
Mr. Cotton answered, tliat he did not rememl)er the first, aud
desired Mr. Wheelwright to explain his meaning. He denied not
the points, but showed u]ion what occasion he deliviTcd them." '

Here we have the elements of the strife, the chief par-
ties in moving it, with an earnest listening group, silent,
or if speaking, not reported to us. An attempt was made
at reconciliation. Winthrop said that though he might
jiossilily agree with Mr. Wheelwriglit, and —

" thought so reverendly of his godliness and abilities, so as he
could be content to live under such a ministrv, yet, seeing he was
apt to raise doulitful disputations, he could not consent to choose
Inni to that place."

The church yielded, that "Wheelwright might he called <o
another at Mount Wollaston.

The breach was to he widened, not closed. Winthrop
had given offence to some of the brethren liy what he had
said against Wheelwright. He should have charged him
privately, not publicly. " In his speech appeared some
bitterness." By his " inferences " he had ascribed to

> Winthrop, i. 202.

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVERSY. 315

"VNlieelwright some opinions wliich he did not liold. Partly
by apology and partly by exjilanation WinthrDp vindicated
himself, but he stood stoutly by his "inferences" as follow-
ing from Wheelwright's avowed opinions. We may believe
that Yane took part in the dispute. In conclusion, Mr.
Winthrop besought of Wheelwright —

" seriously and affectionately, that seeing these variances grew
(and some estrangement withal) from some word.s and plirases
[as " the person of the Holy Ghost and real union "] which were
of human invention, and tended to doubtful disputation rather
than to edification, and had no footing in Scripture, nor had been
in use in the purest churches for three hundred years after Christ,
that for the peace of the church, etc., they might be forborn."

The noble magistrate added, that it was not his call or
place publicly to dispute these matters; but if any brother
privately '' desired to see what light he walked by, ho
would be ready to impart it to him." No one of the church
replied. Soon after Winthrop " wrote his mind fully, with
such scriptures and arguments as came to hand, ami sent
it to Mr. Cotton." '

At the General Court, May 2.T, 1(336, the members in
their pride and hope in having among them the son and
heir of a privy-counsellor, had assigned the sage and moder-
ate Winthrop to the second place in the government, and put
over him the young and inexperienced enthusiast Vane,
of the age of twenty-four, who had been in the country not
yet eight months. " P'ifteen great shi[is " in the harbor
gave him "a volley of shot," and the Governor invited the
masters to dinner.

The next phase of the contention is thus presented by
Winthrop, under date of Nov. 17, 1636 : —

"The governour, Mr. Vane, a wise and godly gentleman, held
with Mr. Cotton and many others the indwelling of the person of

' Winthrnp, i. 203, 204.

31G THE PURITAN AGK.

tlie Holy Ciliost in a Id-licvcr, and wciil so far beyond the rest as
to maintain a [xTKOtial nnion with tin- Holy Ghost; but the deputy,
witli the pastor and divers olliers, denied both ; an<l tlie question
proeeeih'd so far by disputation (in writing, for the peace' sake of
tlie churili, whirl) all were tender of) as at length they rould not
tind the person of the llolv Ghost in ,Seripture, uor in the [irimi-
tive thurihes three hundred years after Christ. So that all apree-
ini; in the ehief matter of substance, viz., that the Holy Ghost is
(iod, and that he doth dwell in the believers (as the Father and
Son l)olh are said also to do), but whether by his gifts and power
only, or by any other manner of presence, seeing the Scripture
doth not declare it — it was earnestly desired that the word ' per-
son ' mi;:ht be forborn, beiti'; a term of human invention, and
teniiing to doubtful disputation in this case." '

Now we are presented witli a scene and occasion which,
with its mingling of sentiment, pathos, tears, and a seem-
ing vacillation of purpose on the [lart of A'ane, offers to the
reader matter for his own interpretation.

(Jovernor Vane, in previous conference with tiie Council
and some others, had procured a meeting of tlie (ieneral
Court to be called, out of course, for Dec. 7, IGSG, on a
re[iresentation wliich he had made to the magistrates that
letters received from friends recalled him home on matters
of urgency in his private affairs. The Court records do
not describe wliat followed as fully as does Wiiithrop.
^'ane made known the case; then writes Winthrop;— ^

" One of the assistants using some patheticall passages of the
loss of such a governour in a time of such danger as did hang
over us from the Indians and French, the governour brake
forth into tears, and professed that howsoever the causes pro-
pounded for his de[)arture were such as <li(h concern the utter ruin
of his outward estate, yet he would rather have hazarded all, than
have gone from them at this time, if .something else liad not
pressed him more, viz., the iiievitiible danger he saw of God's
judgements to come upon us for these differences and dissensions

' WiiUliro]!, i. 206.

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVERSY. 317

which he saw amongst us, and the scandalous imputations brought
upon liimself, as if he siiould be the cause of all ; and tlierefore
he thought it best for him to give place for a time, etc. Ui)on this
the court concluded that it would not be fit to give way to his
departure upon these grounds. Whereujion he recalled liimself,
and professed that the reasons concerning his own estate were
sufficient to his own satisfaction for his departure, and therefore
he desired the court he might have leave to go ; as f(ir tlie other
passage, it slipped him out of his ])assion, and not out of judge-
ment." '

The Court then consented to his dej>artiire, assured, as
the record says, "of liis serious resolution to return to lis
again."- Though the Court took measures for a special
meeting, — it nut being thought disereet to risk the guv-
ernment on the life of the deputy, — tliere proved to be no
occasion for it : for in the mean while some of the Huston
church, after consultation, sent to the Court u jirotest
against Vane's leaving for the reason assigned. On tliis
he, professing himself "an obiilicnt cliilJ of the church,"
added that " without its leave lie durst not go away."

The end was not vrt. Tiic court of deputies jirDcecded
to call in the elders, to advise about purifying the difter-
ences of opinion so heated annuig them, ."^ome of the
elders had "drawn into heads all the points wherein they
susijected Mr. Cotton did differ from tlicm. ami presented
them to him." Vane took great offence at this piilimi-
narv action of the ministers. The sturdy and plain speak-
ing Hugh Peter confronted Vane, as if he had been the
spring of all the troubles, telling liiui —

"how it had sadded the niinistiTs' spirits that he should be jealous
of their meetings, or seem to restrain their liberty, etc. The
Govcrnour excused his S|)eech as sudden and ui)on a mistake. Mr.
Peter told him also that before he came, within less than two
vears since, the churches were in peace, etc. The governour
answered that the light of the Gospel brings a sword, and the
' Wintliiof., i. 207-208. '■ liecords, i. 185.

818 TUE PURITAN AGE.

cluliircii of tilt: Ijoiidwoman would persecute those of the free
wom;iii. Mr. I'etcr iiIho besought him Jiumhly to consider his
3outh, uud short exjHTieuce in tlie tilings of God, and to beware
of i)ort'm|)tory conclusions, which he perceived him to be very

apt unto." '

Tlic reader miiy well infer that Kueh altercation and
bickering as lliis, between two Hucli Hjiirit.s a.s were repre-
sented by Vane and Peter, would not lielp to liarmunize
the relations between those so serijiturally elassi.'d by the
Governor as respectively under "a covenant of trrace "
and " a covenant of works." Winthrof) adds that .Mr. Wil-
son, with evident reflections on a somewhat ambiguous
sermon preached on the same day by Cotton, —

"made a very sad speech of the condition of our churches, and the
inevitable danger of separation if these differences and aliena-
tions among brethren were not speedilv remedied ; and laid the
blame upon these new opinions risen up amongst u^, whirh all the
magistrates excej)t the governour and two others did confirm, and
all the ministers but two."

Out of the jargon of the discussion which followed, the
least unintelligible sentence is the question whether "evi-
dent sanctificati(jn could be evidence to a man without a
concurrent sight of liis justification?" A'aiie and Cotton
answered " no." Of course Mr. Cotton took Mr. Wilson's
speech " very ill," and with " divers otliers " went to ad-
monish him. But Wilson stood for the right of a free utter-
ance of opinion which had been asked of thcni all by the
Court. He was reproached with bitterness on all sides in
the congregation, wliereas that under the strong urgency
of Vane, Winthrop liad but one or two supporters. But
Wilson firmly sustained his own warm friend, and "an-
swered them all with words of truth and soberness, and
wilh mar\cllous wisdom." Well might Winthrop add,
" It was strange to see how the common people were led,

' lU'cords, i. '20y.

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVERSY. 319

bv example, to condemn him [Jlr. Wilson] in that which
(it was very probable ) divers of them did not understand."
It would be wearisome and profitless to follow into fur-
ther details this phase of the controversy. With alternate
attempts, as it advanced, to use " love and gentleness," and
with manifest interminglings of very bitter feelings, the
strife increased till it was evident that it could find its
close only in some civil action or in a catastrophe. For-
tunately there was then no printing-press in the country,
and when there was a brief intermission in the oral dispu-
tations in the meeting-house, many of the contestants had
recourse to written papers which were copied and fiassed
around. These, not to our loss, are not extant. Cotton
wisely took care that all his own papers un the (juarrel
should be burned before his death.

Simjily as another illustration of the leading aim under
which this volume is written, — namely, to trace the per-
plexities and vexations, as well as the nobleness and
virtues of these Puritan people to their way of receiving
and using tlie Scriptures, — one further (juotatiou from
Wintlirop will be helpful : —

"Other opinions brake out publicly in the church of Boston, —
as that the Holy Ghost dwelt in a believer as he is in heaven ; that
a man is justified before he believes ; and that faith is no cjuse of
justification. And others spread more secretly, as that the letter
of the Scripture holds forth nothing but a covenant of works; and
that the covenant of grace was the spirit of the Scripture, which
was known only to believers ; and that this covenant of works
was given by Moses in the ten commandments ; that there was a
seed (viz., Abraham's carnal seed) went along in this, and there
was a spirit and life in it, by virtue of which a man nii;;lit attain
to any sanctification in gifts and graces, and nii;.'lit have spiritual
communion with Jesus Christ, and yet be damned.' . . . All the
congregation of Boston, except four or five, closed with these
opinions, or the most of them ; hut one of the brethren [Win-

1 Wiiithrop, L 211.

320 THE PURITAN AGE.

llirofi] wrote against thorn, ami bore witness to the truth, together
with the |)astor, and very lew others joined with tlieni.' The rest
(if the ministers" taking offence at Cotton's doctrines and sympathy
witli the olinoxious [larty, "drew out sixteen points," some of
which "he cleared," but on (Hliers "he gave not satisfaction."

The reader i.s advised not to attoiiipt to work his brain
upon these iirojiositions with an cftort to understand wliat
tliey mean, or to explain how liunian beings, with the
ordinary cares of life to engage them, could possibly stir
themselves into an excitement concerning them. Their
remoteness of meaning and of inttdligibleness to us will
have their due effect, if they help us to realize that we
are not to judge by our own standards men and women
of a long past, who could not only listen intently to the
discussion of such matters, but could also quarrel bitterly
about them.

Replies were made to Cotton, but only to the further
vexing of the strife. He seems to ha\e been the only one
who tried to be an umpire, moderating between the two par-
ties, and leaving himself open 1o misunderstanding by both
of theni. The niitiisters agr(>ed to give up all their week-
day lectures for three weeks, " that they might bring
things to some issue." A Fast was kept in all tlie churches
on Jan. 20, 163f, for sundry reasons, among them "the
dissensions in our churches." A ship being about to sail
for England, there was reasonable anxiety and alarm as
to the reports she would carry of the prevailing distrac-
tions, to the grievous injury of the troubled Colony. So
sermons and letters were written to relieve the aspect of
things and (o jiut tlie best face on them, as aiming onlv
in various ways " to tidvance the grace of C!od." Win-
throp writes : —

" Everv occasion incri'iiseil tlie contenlinn, .'Uid caused great
.'ilienatiiiii lit Miiruis; and the nieiiihers of Bostou (^Ireciueiitiiig tlio

' Wirillirop, i. '^12.

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTUOVERSY. 321

lectures of other ministers) did make much disturbance by public
questions, and objections to their doctrines ; and it began to be as
common here to distinguish between men, by being under a cove-
nant of grace or a covenantof works, as in other countries between
Protestants and Papists." '

The next General Court furnished occasion for new ex-
citement. The speech of Wilson at the previous Court was
brought under question, but the majority passed upon it
an ap[iroval. The ministers were called upon for advice
as to the authority of the Court in things concerning the
churches. They agreed in two things: (1) That without
the license of the Court a churcli could not call any man in
question for what he had .said there ; (2) That all here-
sies or errors of a church member, as arc manifestly dan-
gerous to the State, may be dealt with by the Court, without
waiting for the church ; but that doubtful opinions are first
to be dealt with by the church. As Mr. Wheelwright was
to be proceeded with for a sermon lie had preached on the
Fast Day, " which seemed to tend to sedition," nearly all
the members of the IJoston church petitioned the Court
that as freemen they might attend the jtroccedings as a
case of judicature, and that the Court would declare its
right to deal with ca.ses of conscience before tiie church.
The petition was [jronounced to be a groundless and pro-
sumptuous act, and it was answered " that the Court was al-
wavs open in judicial cases, but chose to ]U-oceed privately
in matters of consultation and preparation of causes." One
Stephen Greensmith, "for saying that all the ministers ex-
cept A. B. C. [Cotton, Wheelwright, and Hooker] did teach a
covenant of works, was censured to acknowledge his fault
in every church, and fined £40." ^ Cotton, having preached
in the Boston church on the morning of the Fast Day,
Wheelwright preached in the afternoon. His sermon, which
was the occasion for his subsequent banishment, is charac-

1 Winthrop, i. 1 24. ' Records, i. 21 4.

21

322 TriE I'uruTAN age.

tci'izcd by Wintlirop, with proat Rcvcrity and sharp censure,
as oflVnsivc, vehement, and bitter apainst all described as
" wulkinj:' in a CDNcnant of works," and as designed to stir
uji the jieople afjiiinst them. And it was tlie more to be
oom[ilained of because the occasion of flie Fast was to pro-
mote recoiiciUation, and was used Ijy AVheelwrifjlit t(j kindle
and increase differences. In no one of the documents bear-
ing u|ion this controversy will impartial and discerning
readers sec more clearly tlian in this, tested by 'Winthrop's
judgment of it, the evidence of the morbid, high-wrought
and inflammable state into which the feelings of men and
women had been stirred by this distracting strife, largely
on unintelligible matters. Those who listened so testily to
the preacher must have heard between the lines and sen-
tences, interpolating from their own susfiicions and fancies
what he neither uttered nor suggested. The sermon seems
to us earnest, but wholly peaceful, kindly, and harmless.^

It is to be noted that neither Mrs. Hutchinson nor her
brother-in-law Wheelwright ever assumed to be Antino-
niians. On the contrary, he, in the sermon for which he
was dealt with, expressly re|iudiated the name. P>ut the
magistrates and Court inter|ireted their expressed ojiinions
as involving what they lield in dread as such. In Europe
the sect known as Antinoniians were the disciples of John
Agricola, a tailor, born at Eisleben in 141l"J, afterward a
university scholar, rector, and pnvacher, and in Ifi^t") chap-
lain of the Elector of Saxony, at the diet of Spire. As a
disciple and worker with, and aftei'ward an opponent of,
Luther and Melanehthon, be carried to extreme the doctrine
of tlie former of justifiratiou bv faith, in opposition to the
Roman Churcdi doctrine of good works. lie afterward re-
nounced his errors. Both his disci[iles and Ids enemies

' From n rnpy fo\iTiil in mnniisrript in tlir SlJitc Hoiisr it hns boon thrice put
int<i print. Sot- n vnliimc nf tlu' Prinoi" Sorii-ty'-'i riililications, Uoston, 1876.
Tlic sermon rxpresslv wnrncd tlw lirarors *' to liavr rnre that we givi' not otliprs
to say \V(! are libertines or Antinotninna. "

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTBOVERST. 823

perverted doctrines which he iiad carefully and guardedly
defined. So Aiitinomianism came to stand for- — wliat the
authorities of Massachusetts held it to be — a grossly im-
moral doctrine ; superseding the need of good works, and
reaching the monstrous conclusion that nothing which a
believer might do could be sin.

After mucli debate with elders and others, the Court
judged Wheelwright guilty of sedition and contenijit. Vane
and a few others, dissenting, tendered a protestation, which
the Court rejected. The Boston church sent in a petition
justifying the sermon. Sentence was deferred to the next
Court, and the ministers were consulted as to whether
Wiieelwright could be enjoined to silence iu the interval.
As they were in doubt on this point, lie was commended to
the care of the Boston church.

Though the first Court held in Boston had pronounced it
" the fittest place in the Bay for publique meetings," an ex-
ception was now to be made. The town and its church
were strongly and almost unanimously on the side of the
man who was to undergo sentence. So, after much con-
tention, the Court was appointed to be held at Newtown
(Cambridge). Vane refused (o put the motion for this to
vote ; Winthrop, " because lie dwelt in Boston," hesitated
to do so, except reriuired by the Court; so Endicott put it.
One of those manifestations of feeling, petulant, or con-
scientious, as we may regard them — to which reference has
been made, occurred at this time. Vane, Cotton, Wheel-
writrht, " and the rest of the Boston church that were of
any note," refused to attend an ordinaticjn at Concord, be-
cause they accounted the candidates for office to be "legal
preachers."

Things were in a state of ferment, of jealousy, passion,
and struggling partisanship, at the meeting of the Court
of Elections, at Newtown, May 17, 1637. Vane tried to
anticipate the regular course of business by reading a peti-
tion from many of the town of Boston This, Winthrop,

824 TUK I'URITAN AGK.

as Deputy Governor, opjiosecl, as clearly out of order and
obstruetivc. After protracted contention and uproar, only
stoppini; short of personal violence, a division was effected.
Tlie niectinfr was on a warm day, held out of doors. Mr.
Wilson then inang-uratcd "stump speaking" at an election
on this ciintinent. Seated on the iKjugli of a tree, he ha-
rangued the peojde on the projier business of the day as
provided by the Charter. The majority carried it for the
old order of things, electing Wmthrop Governor, Dudley
Dejiuty, with their former associates as Assistants, in place
of \'ane and his friends, Dummer, Haugh, and Coddington.
Boston delayed the choice of its deputies till this result
as to tiic magistrates was reached, and the ne.xt morning
elected Vane, Coddington, and Haugh, to the inferior office.
The Court rejected them on a technicality, but they were
re-elected and then received. Some piques and slights
followed this ujiturning in ollicial jilaees. The sergeants
" being all Boston men," who with their halberds had been
wont, with a form of state, to attend Vane to and from
public meetings, " never less than four of them," in respect
to his being " a person of (]uality," refused to perform the
same service for "Winthrop. He declined the proffer of the
Court to furnish others, and set to that use two of his own
servants. Both he and \'ane were jiut thus into relations
very exacting upon their courtesy and magnanimity. The
elder of tiie rivals sustained well his sclf-rcs]iect and dig-
nity. Vane, with those who had been left out with him^
abanddued their wonted seats with tiie magistrates in the
meeting-house, and sat with the deacons; nor when so-
licite(l liy Winthroj) to do so would \'ane resume his former
seat. A flood of papers now came forth ; from the magis-
trates, to justify their course against Wheelwright ; from
liim, qualifying or cx]ilaining jiassages in liis sermon ; and
from the ministers, on all the tangled threads of the con-
troversy. Winthrop says that "Mr. Cotton reduced mat-
ters to a very narrow scantling," and that had it not been

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVERSY. 325

for tlie heat of former alienations, there might have been
reconciliation, as "only the few who knew the bottom
of the tenents of tliose of the other party, could see where
the difference was." ' The Court deferred sentence against
Wheelwright till its next session in August, hoping that
the effect of a general Fast Day, and further conferences
with the ministers, would help to reduce the alarming ex-
citement of the comnmnity, and also exhiljit the moderation
of the Court when si.i provoked, and reconcile matters.

Tlie only relieving motive wliich, amid the abounding
stores of interesting and instructive matter for his pe-
rusal, can sustain the patience of the reader of our time
in following the details of this to him petty, often unintel-
ligible and wholly profitless dispute, is that by it he is
helped to j)ut himself into more or less sympathetic rela-
tions with those who, in the seclusion and limitations of
their situation and experience, could thus exalt such mat-
ters of contention into themes of supreme and transcendent
importance. ( )ne of the results and fruits of the steady
progiess made by generations in advatu'cd and lilicralized
views is, that the themes opened for debate and discordance
of o[)inion become larger and of more serious imj)ort. And
tlie lai-ger the theme, the more serious and momentous its
import, the nobler is the rauL'e of human faculties encaired
upon it, while the vexing and inflammatory passions wiiich
stir a jietty strife are ke])t in cheek. The oppoiients of
Yane, Mrs. Hutchinson, and Wheelwright in this heated
altercation sought to conserve their fundamental covenant
in the terms of it drawn from the Bible. But the perplexity
was that the so-called Antinomians raised perfectly fair
questions as to the interpretation of the Biblical terms of
that covenant. The Quakers by and by were to raise an issue
which subordinated tliat covenant. The Antinomians took
one step toward lil)eralizing it.

But a fresh matter of contention now came in to engage the

' Winthrop. i. 221.

326 THE PURITAN AGE.

zeal and pen of Vane during tlie slioit remaining [icriod of his
stay in the country. It was an act passed by tlie Court for
tlie [)rot('ction of the country again.st an aiiprelicnded trouble
from tile e.x|ioctid ci^ning heix- of pcisons of weight who
might favor the obno.xious cjpinions. Thi.s act forbade, by a
heavy ))eeuniary penalty, tlie enlertainnient by any iX'.sident
I if any stranger foi' more than three months, or the sale of
land to such, without ficrmissicjn of one or more magistrates.
Tills order, which Winlhrop says was designed to keep out
persons " who might be dangerous to the Commonwealth,"
proved very obno.xious to most of the j)eople of 15oston, who
treated Winthrop with slights on his return to the town.
Mr. Cotton was so aggrieved by the order as to meditate a
removal to New Haven. Winthro]i wrote an earnest argu-
mentative " Defence " of this order, wiiich firesents a ]Miint of
great interest to us. With evident sincerity and earnest-
ness of conviction, and with much weight as coming from
the foremost promoter of the Colony, Winthrop maintains
that tiic Charter conferred exclusive right tif territory on
the patentees, and a power such as a householder has, of re-
straining from entrance in his domicile of any unwelcome
visitor. Vane wrote an "• Answer" to this " Defence," and
WintiiTdp foiliiwed with a " Rejilication." '

A Tiianksgiving Pay was observed for a victory over the
Pei|nots. Winthrop, making a visit to Ipswicli, received
guards and great respect, beyond his wishes, through all the
towns, as an offset to the slights of Boston. Private aliena-
tions were very much embittered. Tiieie was then in Bos-
ton Lord Leigh, son of the Karl of Marlborough, a youth
who had come to see the country. Winthrop invited him
and Vane to dine with him ; but Vane declined, "alleging
by letter that his conscience withheld him." -

Vane, accompanied by Lord Leigh, sailed for England on
the ?)t\ of August. His friends, many of them in arms,

' Thr tlirrc |mfM'rs arc ill liiitcliiii.suirs CuUoction of Tapcre, pp. 67-100.
» Winthrop, i. 232.

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVERSY. 327

honored him with vollc_vs of shot and salutes from the ves-
sel and from the fort. Wintlirop could not leave the Court,
but had given orders for this honorable dismission.

The historian Hubbard, who should have known, says
that the Court liad passed an order that iienceforward no
man should be qualified for the place of governor until
he had been at least one year in the country. No such
entry apjicars on the records. Whether or not this sting-
ing arrow was shot at the young nobleman, it is certain
that his rejection, even as a magistrate, must have satisfied
him that while he had a large circle of tiie most attached
friends, including those of prominence in Boston, the min-
isters and the majority of the people regarded him with
great disfavor, and held him chargeable with the fierce dis-
sensions, the estrangement and acrimony of feeling, and
more than all for the threatcnings of sedition and alarm-
ing outbreaks which they a]i[)rehended. He left matters in
a state of fearful distraction. The two ministers of his
churcii were made to lead two angry factions. The lioiiorcd
and ever true-licarted Wintlirop, now dependent uf)on his
own calm of spirit in meeting the coldness and misrepresen-
tations of tliose to wliose welfare he had devoted bis life,
was so sorely buffeted that his eijuanimity was shaken, to
the extent of a possible failure of judgment. The strife was
yet to rage, with new elements of variance and bitterness.
In dismissing Vane from any further direct agency in it, it
is most just to him, and most grateful fo one reviewing tiiis
dissension, to be able to add that he to(jk home witli him
no grudges, no personal smarts. He had done good sei-
vice wliiie here, in aiding the younger Wintbrop's business
for the settlement of ('onneetieut, as agent for Lord Say and
Sele and Lord Brooke. He had also been in warm sym-
pathy with Roger Williams in his views of what ought to
be the relations between the whites and the Indians. He
performed many kindly offices, and was' ever ready to ren-
der helpful service to Massachusetts and New England

328 THE PURITAN AGE.

when he had influence with those wlio held tlie helm of
State. Two widely different estimates of his eliaracter and
eareer, with its tra^'ic close, have come down to uh from
tliose writing in the interest of [larties. To s(jme he rejjre-
scnts all that is imi)ractieal)ic, visionary, and icvulutionizing
in the wild idealism and theorisni of a zealot and enthusiast
in reli}j:iou8 mysticism, l)rouuiit to lx;ar upon affairs of
State. To others he presents himself as one of tiie noblest,
wisest, and best of Eniilisli woiihics, in the jiurity of his
purposes and the consecration of his wisdom and \irtue to
the highest human services. It is by that estimate of him
that Milton immortalized him in his prrand sonnet. Vane
distrusted Cromwell, and openly rebuked him for his ambi-
tion for the kinfrship. Cromwell, in return, called Vane a
" jugijler," and Carlyle adojits the cpitliet. Clarendgn re-
garded him as " a man of extraordinary parts ; a pleasant
wit, a great understanding, which pierced into and discerned
the purpose of other men with wonderful sagacity, whilst
he had himself vuliiun claunum.'' Dean Swift, in terms
characteristic of his own [icrsonality, wrote to Burnet, " Vane
was a danirerous enthusiastic l»<'asf ." Sir James Mackintosh
says, "Vane was j)rolialily the first who laid down with per-
fect precision the inviolable rights of conscience, and the ex-
emption of religion from all civil authority." Ilallam savs,
" The royalists have spoken of Vane with extreme dislike ;
yet it should be remembered that he was not onl\ incoriu[it
but disinterested, inflexible in conforming his public con-
duct to his principles, and averse to every sanguinary and
oppressive measure." Richard- IJaxter was iierjilexed and
offended by the element of mysticism in A'ane, and coupling
him with Slerry, another with wliom he was at variance,
cast a gibe at both of tliem, in writing of their |iiineiples
as " Vanity and Sterility." The Ring was faithless in his
I'oyal ])roniise to save Vane from execution, as his father
had been to Strafford. The sentence that Vane should
" be hanged, drawn, and (juartered at Tyburn," was " niiti-

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVERSY. 320

gated " to beheading on Tower Hill. He refused the proffer
to petition for bis life. Vane's wife was allowed to pass
the night with him in the Tower before his execution.
With a view to possilile results, he required that an attested
record of the fact should be made by the lieutenant of the
Tower. Ills posthumous son. Sir Christopher Vane, was
sworn of the Privy Council, under James II. , Aug. 12,
1688. There is a tinge of romance in the connection of
such a man as Vane, the friend of Milton and Roger Wil-
liams, and once of Cromwell, with our early days of Indian
warfare and religious contention. Ills portrait should hang
in our State House.

We return to tlie scene and actors of the strife in
Boston. Mrs. Hutchinson was continuing her women's
meetings, gathering toward her jealousies which were to
manifest themselves after the case of her brother-in-law
had been dis[)Oscd of. Though he was under censure of
the Court, .sentence had been deferred jiending the at-
tempts at conciliating at least some of the dilTrrfnces liy
tiie circulation of papers. But as if in uneoiiscioiisiiess
of the fact that the ingredients already mingled in the
strife were sutTicicnt to overtask the shrewdest and most
{iiactical skill brought to deal with them, the leaders of the
parties rallied new contributors to it. Hooker and Daven-
port came from Connecticut and had many meetings with
tlie elders, ami it was agreed, that with the consent of the
magistrates there sh(juld be a cmifereuee of a most com[ire-
hensive kind on tlie .3Utli of August. This was jjreceded
bv a day of humiliation on the 'J4tli. Mr. Kavenport,
irom a text' rebuking those who cause divisions, after the
ingenious fashion of so many of the clergy in all time,
preached a sermon most adroitly adjusted to promote tiie
mischief designed to be averted. So in the Boston church
"he clearlv discovered his judgement against the new
opinions and bitter practices which were s|)rung up here." ^

> 1 (oriiitliians, i. 10. " WiiitLrrip, i. 23C.

330 THE PURITAN AGE.

('otton then took his turn, cxjioundinjr the occasions on
which civil rulers nii^ht consult with the ministers of the
churches.

The New Town (Cambridge), where the earliest meas-
ures were then in inception for the planting of the wilder-
ness college, has been the witness in the iajise of years
of nuuiy occasions engaging thought and speecli upon all
subjects Concerning tlie highest interests of humanity,
liut we may feel assured that none of these occasions has
enlisted a profounder earnestness of expectation, a more
intensified spirit of fervor and zeal, nor more acute and
stimulating exercises of mind and soul, than that of which
we are now to write. Not convinced, as so many of us in
these times are, that clerical synods have been among the
worst pests and perils of Christendom, through all the
ages, the Court had provided that tlie first of them in
the long list of those that liave since been lield on this
continent should be con\ened at Newtown, Aug, 30, lb37.
Stimulated to fever heat were all the passions and senti-
ments that were to be engaged in it, — in ministers, dele-
gates, or '■ messingcrs" from the churches, and magistrates.
The synod was to be composed of all the contestants and
parties to the strife, instead of having any of the chai'acter of
an external or indef)endcnt tribunal wliich miglit be looked
to as an impartial arliitrator. The diet of those in attend-
ance, and the travelling ex|>cnses of those coming from
outside the Colony, were to be paid from tiic public treas-
ury. " There were all tlie teaching elders through the
country, and some new come out nf iMiglaud, not vet called
to any place here, as Mr. Davenfiort, etc." ' Cotton, as
the head of the ministers, had he nut been so prominent
a jiarty, would naturally have been the moderator. Hut
Bulkeley o{ Concord and Hooker of Connecticut shared
that honor. After prayer by tlie pastor of Cambridge,
Shepard, the assembly listened to the reading of a most

' Wiiithroii, i. 237.

THE ANTINOMUN CONTROVERSY. 331

extraordinary paper, signed by all tlio ministers except
Cotton. This was a gathering u|i and an attempted classi-
fication of all the " erroneous opinions sjircad in the coun-
try," including " unwholesome expressions," " unsavory
speeches," and " abused Scriptures," or texts falsely or
wrongly turned to arguments. There were exactly eighty-
two erroneous opinions. They were largely "■ inferences "
again, constructions, deductions, glosses, tasking the inge-
nuities and technicalities of speech to give them intelli-
gible expression, and often failing of that. Well is it
written, "witii the heart man believcth " There could have
been but very little of mind in most of tiiosc propositions.
That noble, but much abused word, "opinions," signifies the
fruits of thought, the results of thinlving. And this mean-
ing the word ought always to carry witli it, if we are to
listen otherwi.se than conteni|ituously to the common pli;a
that " every man's opinions are entitled to respect." We
cannot yield that resjiect to notions and fancies when we
know that they involve no real thought, tliat notliing from
the working brain or the brooding mind has gone into
them. Ojiinions are to be formed, not taught or adojitcd.
Tlie startling inventory read before the synod would be
• as unintelligible to-day, sa\e to experts, as would lie the
formulation of a process in modern chemistry. The intent
was to impute the res])onsibility for ail tliese erroneous
opinions, unwholesome expressions, and unsavory specclies,
to tiie party of Cotton, Wheelwright, and Mrs. Hutcliinson.
Cotton was willing to bear testimony against most of them
as heretical and absurd, while some of them were iilasphe-
mous ; but he would not condenm them all. Every one
in the synod, lay or clerical, had free speecii in deitating
the propositions through three weeks. This statement,
however, must be qualified. Some in attendance from the
Boston cliurcli were irritated and scandalized at having
sucli a travesty of heresies, crotcliets, and absurdities as-
cribed to them, and protested tiiat the publication of them

332 THE PUIIITAN AGC.

would brinj; a rpproach on tlie whole country. They in-
Kisted therefore that the names of ))erfions cliargeable with

siicii notions sliiiuld be ^n\i'ii. 'J'liis (lie svnod would not
consent to, alle^Miij; that it was dralinfr with "lici'esies,"
not with |icrsons. To their o\er-urfrency with firotests
tlK'v rei-rixcil a hint that they woulil \if withheld by the
nuiLHstratc, Irst they .should provoke a civil disturbance.
Some oi these IJoston jirotestcrs then left the synod and
never returned to it.

The opinions, so called, were discussed, then papers and
ar^rumcnts were prepared on both sides, with attempts to
simplify and clear up. This met with partial success.
The result, a|ijiroved by a large majority, to which some
assentt'd, without subscribinir, was a condemnation of the
new "opinions."' The last day of tlie three weeks" session
was given to some other debating. With an eye to what
was ^'■oing on \ igorously in Boston, under the lead of Mrs.
Hutchinson, the following jiroposition was agreed ujion:

" Tliat tlioui.'li women might meet (some few together) to pray
;uiil L'dify one another, yet Eucli a set as.semblv (as was tlit-n in
practi.M' at Uu.-ton) where si.xty nr more did meet every week, and
one woman (in a jiroplielieal «ay. liy resolving questions of doe-
trine, and ex|i(iuniiiii;: Scripture! took upon lier the whole exercise,
was agreed to be- disorderly and without rule." '

Restraint was also put upmi the freedom of speech and
questioning by persons after sermon. The magistrates'
helfi might be engaged to comjud tlie attendance of one
undi'r church censure who woidd not present himself to
meet it, — another illustration of the sti'ady ad\anct' in
identifying civil and religious administrntion. .\ fourth
conclusion was, that a memlicr ditlering friun the rest of
the church on " an opinion not fundamental,"" ought not for
that reason to forsake the ordinances there; "and if such
did desire dismission to any other church, which was of his

' Winthrnji, i. 210.

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVERSY. 333

opinion, and did it for that end, tlie church whereof lie waa
oiiglit to deny it for the same end." Tlie increasinij indi-
viduality and eccentricity of of)inion wa.s not, however, to
be withstood by thus restraining the liberty of clioice in
seeking more congenial fellowship and ministrations. The
individual would be likely to regard his special ojiinion as
'•fundamental" to him. These multiplying annoyances
and variances incident to the attempt to bring into forced
accord those whose " tender consciences " and busy wits
were inventing scruples and notions, were sure to increase
under the activity of church discipline. It is, however, to
be kept in mind that each member when entering into fel-
lowship pledged himself to come under "the watch and
ward" of the church. This obligation was indelinuble as
to its extent and range.'

Governor Wintiiro]i was so relieved and gratilied by the
general temper and conclusion of this assembly, "all in
love," that he yielded to one of those occasional failures
of discretion, — not frequent with liim, — and " propounded
if it were not fit to have the like meeting once a year, or
at least the next year, to settle what yet remaine<l to be
agreed, or if but to nourish love." lie adds, "This motion
was well liked of all, liut it was not thouijht (it to conclude
it." A fortunate decision. To the credit of the ministers
it is to be noted that they objected to any measures lieing
adopted bv the assemljly for jiroviding a nictiujd for their
maintenance "agreeable to the rule of the Gospel." Tliey
would avoid the imj)Utation of using the assembly for their
own advantage. Mr. Davenport closed the synod with a
discourse in which he prepared the way for more divisions
by preaching against them. A Thanksgiving Day was kept
on the 12th of October for victories over the Pequots, and
" for the success of the assembly ; but by reason of this
latter some of Boston would not be present at the publick
;8."2

1 Wintlirnp, i. 243. ' IMil.

334 THE PURITAN AGE.

Wo nrc well proparod tf) find Winthrop acknowlodpinp
liis dis;ip|ioii)tmr'nt wlirn it proved that the action of the
asspinliiy, so far from pacifying; the strife, was followed
by furtlicr contention. lie had thou;_'lit tliat Wlieelwrifrht
and liis jiarty had liien clearly confuted and confounded ;
i)ut they were hy no means of that mind thi'niselves, and
showed their discontent by renewed acti\ity. The tleneral
Court, meeting on tlic 2d of November, lti.'57, availed itself
of what AVinthrop calls an " opj)ortnnity." Whether the
device adopted ought not to be defined by a very difTcrent
term, let the reader judge. It will l)e remembered that at
a Court held on the 9th of March, eiirht months previous, a
remonstrance or petition had been offered by some of Ho.s-
ton, in earnest behalf of Wheelwright and in indirc-ct cen-
sure of the Court. No notice was at the time taken of this
remonstrance, and it was passed over in subsequent sessions
in May and August. But this Court determined, on con-
sultation, to make it available for a purpose wliich Win-
throp thus states: —

"The Court finding that two so opposite parties could not con-
tain in tlic same body, without ajiparent liazard of ruin to the
whoU', a^rri'd to sfnd away some of the principal." '

There were more than sixty signers to the remonstrance.
Cue of these, William Aspinwall, was a deputy to tlie
Court from Boston. On sus[iieioii — which pi'ovcd to have
reason — that he had drawn the paper, he was dismissed
from the Court, then called again to be disfranchised and
banished. The same disposal was made of Johti Coggc-
shall, another Boston deputy, who, though he had not
signed, yet said he approved the petition. The indignant
constituency of Bi>ston proposed to send them back to the
Court atrain, but ('otton dissuade(i them. Yet the town
found such dilTieulty in selecting such deputies as it op-
]iroved, while unacceptable to the Court, as to leave the

Wintliro|i, i. S'lB.

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVERSY. 835

places vacant during the session. Wheelwright was then
summoned. He refused to yield either "his opinions, his
place, or his public exercisings." He was disfranchised
and banished, his appeal to the King being denied. He
was allowed to go to his house on his ])romise that if he
were not gone out of the jurisdiction in fourteen days he
would yield himself to one of the magistrates.^
The terms of the sentence are as follows : —

" Mr. John Wheelwright, being formerly convicted of contempt
and sedition, and now justifying tiimsehe and liis former pruolice,
being to the disturbance of tlie civill peace, hee is liy the Court
disfranchised and banished, having 14 days to settle his affairs;
and if within that time hee depart not the patent, he promiseth
to render himself to Mr. Stoughton, at his house to bee kept till
hee bee disposed of." *

Before quoting from the Records the disposal made of
Mrs. Hutchinson, wc may read Winthrop's account of her
arraignment : —

"The Court also sent for !Mrs. Hutihinson, and charged her
with divers matters, as lier keeping two puMic Irdurcs every week
in her house, whereto sixty or eighty persons did usually resort,
and for reproaching most of the ministers (viz., all except Mr. Cot-
ton) for not preaching a covenant of free grace, and that they had
not the seal of the Spirit, nor were able ministers of the New Tes-
tament: which were clearly proven against her, though she sou;,'ht
to shift it off. And after many speeches to and fro, at last she

1 Winthrop, i. 246.

' Records, i. 207. Mr. Doyle — "The P^nglish in America" (Puritan Colo-
nies), i. 180 — pertinently remarks upon tlie new elements which excitement and
agitution had introduced in the original matter of tlie controversy, " tliat the
attitude of Wheelwright and his associates was not |ireciscly whiit it had been
at the outset. It is clear that both he and liis sister were among those to
whom strife was a delight. A combative temper, the need for satisfying that
love of novelty which they had themselves done so much to create, and that
spirit of aggressive opposition which even the semblance of persecution begets
in original and .self-reliant minds, all prompted them to extend their differ-
ences from the established creed."

.'53G THE PURITAN AflE.

was so full as she could not contain, but vented her rfvclations :
auiiiuijst wliicli this was one, — that she had it revealeil to her that
she shoidd eonie into New Eri;;lan(i, and should here he persecuted,
and that (iod would ruin us and <jur jiosterity, and the whole State,
for the same. So thi' Court |irocee<led and banished lier ; but, be-
cause it was winter, they committed her to a private house, where
she was well provided, and her own fricuds and the elders per-
mitted to go to her, but none else." '

This jirivate lioiise wa.s tliat of Mr. Joseph Wclde in Rox-
bury, brother of the elder, one of the bitterest ojjponcnts
(if Jlrs. Hutchinson. Her " revelations," private special
illuminations, which she claimed were made to her by the
Spirit, were the dynamite missiles of those times ■which
struck shocks of indignation and dread in those who re-
stricted all communications between Tlod and men to the
Bible. But it needed no special revelations to forebode the
ruin likely to befall the wilderness colony in its first score
of years if these distractions were not quieted.

A report of this trial, coverino: forty pages, from an un-
known hand, enables us to follow its course, and to catdi
its salient points. ^ Winthrop presided, and put most of the
questions and charges. His position, oflice, and duty were
most trying to him. We liavc to fall back upon our pro-
found iin|iressioiis of the deep sincerity and integrity of liis
character, his singleness and devotion of jmrpose, and the
consecration of his fortune and life to a beloved work
which he saw threatened with a dire and humiliating catas-
troplie, to read without some faltering or misgiving of n\>-
firo\al, not to say with regret and reproach, the method
with which he conducted the examination of this gifted
and troublesome woman. Her wea]K"in was a eensorioua
toniriie ; her defensive armor was a consciousness of a pure
and sanctilied heart. Impiirtiality, if it involved any degree
of tolerance and sym|iathy, was, under the circumstances,

' \Vintlirn|i, i. la.

^ lIutcliHisuns History of Ma-isacliusetts, ii. Aiipendii.

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVEKSY. 337

impossible. For three years Winthrop had seen his social
and church fellowship witli once loving and trusting friends
riven by alienation, by asperity, and by unciiaritableness of
judgment. His official duties had been embarrassed by hos-
tile i)artisansliip. A youtliful rival for the confidence and
honors of the people, after a short residence here, had left
open many bleeding wounds and intiamed much angry
fiassion. And, above all, the strife which was raging was
mainly concerned with unintelligible propositions, used to
furnisli catchwords of jealousy, disparagement, and offen-
sive comparisons utterly unedifying as concerning their
religious guides. Winthrop seriously and earnestly, but
without heat, charged Mrs. Hutchinson with the matters
of ofteiice already stated, as promoting strife and factions,
and as being the prime cause and agent in their grievous
troubles. To her request for some spccuiic accusation,
Winthrop reiterated his charges. After the Puritan fash-
ion in quoting Scripture, lie used her transgression against
the civil law in entertaining strangers, as a breach of the
commandment to honor parents. She had also counte-
nanced Wheelwright for his sermon, and the signers of
the remonstrance. Winthrop, abashed in bis dignity, or
parting with his courtesy, said, " We do not mean to dis-
course with those of your se.\." To the complaint against
her for holding women's meetings, she quoted " a clear
rule in Titus, that the elder women should instruct the
younger." To the question of the Governor, whether if
a luindred men should come to her for instruction she
should impart it, she said she should not; and when the
question was varied, she said she would instruct any one
man coming for the purpose. She naively asked, " Do
you think it not lawful for me to teach women, and why
do you call me to teach the Court ? " The Governor told
her that her rule from Titus meant that " elder women
should instruct the younger about their business, and to
love their husbands." She thought the duty included

22

338 THE PURITAN AGE.

inoro ; and then tlic f!()\ criior reminded her of the divis-
ions, (lisscnsiciiis, ami distraction caused by lier meetinr^s.
She still insisted to know what " rule from God's word"
forhaiie her. Winlhrop replied, " We are your judf^es, and
not you ours, and we niusl compel you to it." The Deputy
(lovcrnor, Dudley, here interposed, reviewing the dissen-'
sions of the last three years, all of which he charged ufion
her and \'ane ; also that she had implicated Mr. Cotton,
" who hath cleared himself that he was iKjt of that mind."
Bradstrcet and Kndieott put in (jacstions, Ijut Mrs. Hutch-
inson kept her self-command and answered with discretion.
Hugh Peter then spoke at length, stating that Mrs. Hutch-
inson's fellow-passengers had suspicions of her opinions,
and that when it was bruited that she drew invidious com-
parisons between ministers, he with some others who felt
aggrieved called her to account ; and after some debate,
"tender at the first," had drawn from her the plain avowal
of " a broad diiTerence between our brother Mr. Cotton and
ourselves." The " inferenci'S " they forced u]Min licr were
that the others were not able ministers, and '" had not the
seal of the Spirit."

Six other ministers testified plainly that in interviews
with them she had drawn the same invidious distinction
between them and Cotton. She replied that they had got
this frank o[iinion fi-om her " in a way of friendship,"
which was afterward, not witli her intent, used in reproach
publicly. Some discussion followed about Serijitural te.\ts.
On the next day Wintlirop began l)y reviewing the yester-
day's proceedings. The Court declined Mrs. Hutchinson's
request that the witnesses be put under oath, and there
was much debating u])on it. Mr. (^ltton was called in and
put in a very eniliarrassing position by having to admit
that, to liis own regret, she had drawn the unfavorable
distinction between himself and the other ministers. The
discussion soon reached tlie matter of " revelations," and
Mrs. Ilulchinson was understood as savins:; that she had

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVERSY. 839

assurance that God would relieve her of all trouble. Win-
tlirop cauf^ht at this as proving her " desperate enthu-
siasm." Cotton was drawn into sharp altercation by
endeavoring to define two kinds of " revelations." Win-
thrup in his impatience parted with judicial impartiality,
and pressed for sentence. Two of the Court opposed it,
and one more refused to vote. Winthrop put the question
" whether it was the mind of the Court that, for the trouble-
someness of her spirit, and the danger of her course," she
should be banislied, and until she could be sent away, be
imprisoned? Mr. Jennison, deputy from Ipswich, declined
to vote either way, offering to give his reasons if desired.
Mr. Coddington, magistrate, and Mr. Colburn, deputy of
Boston, opposed the motion. All the other members of
the Court approved.

The sentence is recorded as follows : —

" Mrs. Hutchinson (the wife of ISIr. William Hutchinson), being
convented for truduceing the ministers and their ministerv in this
country, shee declared volenturily her revelations for her j^rmind,
and tliat shee should bee delivred and the Court ruined, with
their posterity, and thereupon was banished, and the meane while
was committed to Mr. Joseph Weld untiU the Court shall dispose
of her." '

Those who had shown their approval of this prime
offender, and were more or less in sympathy with her as
manifested by having their names on tlie Remonstrance,
were visited with various jienalties. Ten of the signers
apologized for the act, and wished to have their names
erased. There must have been lively work in the Court,
as the resolute or the timid one by one were called for
judgment.

There have been difTerences of opinion expressed upon
the manifesto issued by the Court in justification of these
and of its subsequent proceedings. The issue is whether

> Eecorda, L 207.

340 TUE PURITAN ACE.

the apiircbension it avowed of a threatened insurrection
and resistance of the government was sincere, willi rea-
sons tiiat ojierated as wai'nin^^s, or a mere pretence to avert
charij;es of tyrannical severity.

The substance of tht^ manifesto and order is as foHows:

" Wlicreas the ()])ini()riK and revcJutioiis of Mr. \Vheelwrij,'ht
and Mr.s. llutcliiuson liavc scdurt-d and Ic^d intu daijirerous errors
many of the peopit.- heare in Xuw Jin;.'land, insomuch as there is
just cause of suspition that they, as otiiers in Germany, in former
times, may, upon some revelation, make T>ome suddaine irruption
ujiou those that differ from them in juilgenitnt — "

the Court proceeded to add an order that certain persons
named, should on penalties for delay or refusal, liefore the
30th of the mouth (^November, lC37j, gi\e up all their
arms and ammunition of every kind, to those designated
for receiving them. Of those named, fifty-eight were of
Boston, including some of its best and most trusted citi-
zens. This is true also of citizens of other towns, — five
of Salem, three of Newbury, five of Ro.xbury, two of
Ipswich, and two of Charlestown, — who W(>re tn be dis-
armed. Such of these as would " acknowledge their siiin
in subscribing ' the seditious libel,' or do not justify it,"
were to lie exempt from the order. Jlrs. Hutchinson was
to be kept in charge at Roxbury, at the expense of her
husband.

Winthrop makes note of an incident occurring at this
time to wiiicli reference is to be made as illustrating the
fact that he, as a magistrate, ehosr to remind the cliurch
tb:it he was not amenalile to its discipline for some things
dour by him in tliat capacity. He had jirepared and sent
to Kngland f(ir imiilieation an account of the ]iroceeiiing8
in tiie Court with observations njion them, " to the end
that our godly friends niiglit not be discouraged from
coming to us." ' Many of the Boston church took offence

1 Wli.llirnp. i. 240.

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVERSY. 341

at this, and prompted the elders to call him to account
for it. Coming to the knowledge of this, and wishing to
avert the disorder that might follow by addressing it to
the congregation, lie anticipated it and prevented it. His
plea was a Scriptural one, and he quoted the authority
of Christ for the independence of the civil power. The
examples of Uzziah, Asa, Salam, Abiathar, Lot, Hagar,
and Ishmacl come in to illustrate parts of his argument.
None the less the churches had their duties yet to perform
to those who as und'er their " watch and ward " had been
proceeded against l)y the civil power. After " admoni-
tions" pronounced in vain, the Roxbury clmrcli cast out
diverse of its members. " In their dealing with them,
they took some of them in plain lies and other foul
distempers." ^

The whole community had been wrought up into a fever
of restlessness, anxiety, murmuring, readiness to listen to
all idle rumors and suspicions, which court and church
tried' in vai'ious ways to restrain and fjuiet. The Court
passed an order for severe penalties against all who should
question or C(m6emn any of its proceedings or sentences:
it attempted to secure dignity and accountability in the
behavior and speech of the magistrates, and saved the
privilege of petition as of free use " in any way of God."
In the Boston church some wasted their time and zeal
in ferreting out from the by-currents of privacy all secret
opinions and extravagances, and magistrates and elders
spent two days over these trivialities. Tiic only one
among them intelligible to us is ''that there is no resur-
rection of the body." From Mrs. Hutchinson's denial of
a corporeal resurrection it seems to have been inferred that
this supreme idealist was a materialist. Her real opinion
was "that the souls of men are mortal by generation, but
are afterwards made immortal by Christ's purchase." Mr.
Cotton availed himself of the opportunity to affirm that he

' Winthrop, i. 250.

34i! THE PURITAN AGE.

hull been abused and made a".stalkin<^ horse " by the
heretics, in being ([iK^tcd as huldintj some of their notions
which hi' alilmrred. ^h/anwliilr Mis. Hutchinson at Rox-
bury was daily beset by elders and others in efforts to
convince or to convict her. It is a marvel that she re-
tained her reason uudi/r tliese rasping afflictions. They
found her still to hold some thirty " gross crrours." P'if-
tccn of these were put into shape and sent to Boston
church, as matter for dealing with her after a lecture in
March, 163|.

The governor and treasurer, being members, were al-
lowed to leave the Court at Newtown, that tliey miuht
attend the church meeting. The"errours" ijcing read to
her, after standing for them a while, Mrs. Hutchinson
appeared to }icld, as if " con\inced by reason and scrif)-
ture." She was then plied with three more errors, but
she would not admit the oj)inions to be such. With Imt
two dissidents, and these iicr own sons, the church voted
that she should be admonished, " and because her sons
would not agree to it, they were admonished also." This
distressing church session was jirolonged till eight at night,
when " Mr. Cotton pronimnced the sentence of admonition
with great solemnity, and with nuich zeal and detestation
of her crrours and pride of s]iirit." "The special presence
of fiod's sjiirit" was felt in the assembly, and the harassed
woman had a resjiitr till "the next lecture day."'' Some
" chief military ofiicers, who had declared themselves fa-
vorers of the familistical i)crsons and opinions," being
sent for, acknowledged that "the o])inions and practice
tended tn disturbance and drlusions," and thanked God
for their deliverance. In the interval before her second
appearance before the church, Mrs. Hutchinson, ha\ing
" given hope of her re]ientaiu'e," had been permitted bv
the (%iurt to make lier home with Mr. Cotton, in order
that he and his guest, Mr. Davenport, " might have the

' Winthrop, i. 256.

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVERSY. 843

more opportunity to deal with lier." It is to be lioped that
thus among personal friends, perhaps partial sympathizers,
sharinp; kindly hospitality, and in incessant talking upon
subjects made of lively interest to all jiarties, the troubled
spirit of the woman found some repose. At the meeting
of the church, March 22, 1G3^, —

'• the articles beinc; arjain read to her, ami her answer required,
she delivered it in writing, wherein she made a retractation of
near all, but with such explanations and circumstances as gave no
satisfaction to the clmrch ; so as she was required to speak further
to them. Then she declared that it was just with (Jod to leave
her to her>elf as he liad done, for her slighting liis ordinances, both
magistracy and ministry ; and confessed that what she liad spoken
against the magistrates at the court (bv way of revelation) was
rash and ungrounded, and desired the cliurcli to pray for her.
This gave the church good hope of her repentance; but when she
was examined about some parliculurs, as that slie had denied in-
herent rigliteousness, etc., she athrnicd tiiat it was never her
judgement ; and though it was proved by many testimonies that
slie had been of lliat judi,'ement, and .so li.id persisted, and main-
tained it bv arguments against divers, yet she impudently |)ersisted
in her alRrmatiun, to the astonisliment of all tiie assembly. So
that after much time and many arguments hml been spent, to bring
her to see her sin, but all in vain, the church, with one consent,
cast her out. Some moved to have lier admonished once more ;
but it being for manifest evil in matter of conversation, it was
agreed otherwise ; and for that reason also the sentence was de-
nounced bv the pastor [Wilson], matter of manners belonging
properly to his place." '

I have copied the foregoing paragraph from the Journal
of the Governor, who was present at both the examinations
of Mrs. Hutchinson before the church after the Thursday
[jccture. His record prompts many suggestions. It closea
his account of a controversy which had been in progress
for three years, steadily becoming more embarrassed and
' Winthrop, i. 257, 258.

344 TUE PURITAN AGE.

obscure in the propositions of opinion and doctrine which
it involved, .and witii increasing; bitterness in its alienations
and heats of spirit . Wc must take in connection with
Wintliroji'a statement the following entry on the ancient
records of the First (then the only) Church of Boston :

"The 22(1 of tlio 1st Month [March], 1 6:!K, Anne, the wife of
our brother, William Hutchinson, having on the loth of this
month been opcniv, in the public congregation, admonibhed of
sundry errors held by her, was on the same 22d day cast out of
the church for impenitently persisting in a manifest lie then ex-
pressed bv her in open congregation."

I cannot believe either that Mrs. Hutchinson was iruilty
of "a manifest lie," or that Winthrop and the church
would have attributed to her the heinous ofTence liecause
of yirejiidiee or opposing judprment. Nor need one U)ok
beyond the obscurity and intricacy of the terms used in
the statement of equally obscure and intricate propositions
of doctrinal beliefs, to find a reconciling- medium for the
integrity of both parties. Undoubtedly Mrs. Hutchinson
became inextricably involved in the maze and labyrinth
of the utterly unprofitable strife, and was open to mis-
apprehension and misrepresentation by others wlir> cotild
not follow her abstractions and qualifications. She had
made courteous and womanly apologies for any failures
of social etifpictte or respect for niagisti'ates. But she
had persuasions, deeply cherished sentiments, opinions,
and beliefs which, though they might not signify the same
to her and to others, whose interiiretation and inferences
from them as false or mischievous she could not aceejit.
she cotdd not and would not renoiuice.

I'>ut how, we may ask, had it come about that, while
three yeai-s, and even less than two years befure, she had
carried with her in sympathy and support all but half-a-
dozen members of the Boston church, its sentence now
should be a unanimous one against her ? Three reasons

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVERSY. 345

for tliis offer themselves. The firmest, warmest, and most
iiiHuential of her friends had no part in these proceedings,
and were not present at them. Some had been banished,
or had y;one away, or yielded to their feelings and would
not attend. Again, some really stood in fear of the pen-
alties of the Court, — of banishment and separation from
their families, which their friends had already suffered.
And once more, a real alarm was working in the panic-
strici<cn community, of a conijilete disruption of all jieace
and order as likely to result from some of the " infer-
ences," which they had come to understand as rightfully
drawn from Antinomian doctrines and practices. A fur-
ther word from Wintlirop adds an explanation : —

" After she was excommunic.ited, her spirits, which seemed be-
fore to l)e somewhat dejected, revived again, and she gloried in
her sufferinjjs, saving that it was the greatest liapjiiness, next to
Christ, that ever liefel lier. Indeed, it was a liapjjv day to the
churches of Christ liere, and to many poor souls who had been
seduced bv her, who, by what they lieard and saw that day, were
(through the grace of God) brought off quite from her errours,
and settled again in the trutli." '

Cotton had Ijecn put to a severe trial in pronouncing the
first church censure upon Mrs. Hutchinson. He has been
called " a trimmer " and " a coward," " a false friend " and
a mean time-server, for the course which he pursued. Of
the justice of these personal constructions and judgments,
a candid and considerate reader must decide for himself.
Of all the persons concerned in these painfully distracting
proceedings, Cotton had been the most jirivileged for know-
ing and comprehending the sentiments and principles, the
Christian graces and virtues, and the unselfish services to
others of this highly-endowed woman. Her regard, confi-
dence, and affection toward liim were very strong. It was
to renew and continue the satisfaction she had found in his
■ Winthrop, ii. 256.

346 THE PURITAN AGE.

ministry that she had left her En<rlish home and joined
the exiles liere. Hut the wlioliy siiontaiieoiis and un-
guarded way ill wiiich she maiiirest(.'d her [lartiality for
liim became at once emharrassiii;: to him. To he siiipled
out by her, as he was, emfiliatically, and soon ofiensively,
as " the only (ine of the ministers in tlie Bay " whose
preaching was pitched in the tone of vital truth for edifi-
cation, and to liave this preference impressed and reiter-
ated to the groups of admiring women wlio listened to
her words with res])ect for lier cliaracter and gratitude for
loving and si<ilful service, would act as efTeetively upon
his repute as upon her own. Tlie caprices as well as the
convictions of her female followers would lead to words,
acts, tokens of like and dislike, of sympathy and of antipa-
thy, in the presence both of men and women. The toss of
the head, the look of aversion, the thronging upon the dis-
coursings of Mr. Cotton, and the pre.^sini: out from the
assemblies when other elders were to ]ircach, were aggra-
vations not to be unheeded. Tlie fact that the young and
interesting nobleman Henry Vane, after having been only
seven months in the Colony, with wliich he had no intent
to cast in liis lot, and who had l)Cen enthusiastically caught
up to displace the faitliful and experienced 'Winthrop, was
one of the few men privileged to attend the women's
meetings, sharing with their leader the partiality for Mr.
Cotton, was another embarrassment to that elder. It is
certain, also, that Cotton symjiathized with and apjiroved
some of her first utterances, as he understood them. In-
deed, she mav have adopted her distinctive views, or the
niiido of exjiressing them, from him. Apart from all the
siibse(|uent developments and aggravations of the conten-
tion, it would have been perfectly natural and accordant
with the reliLrious fervors and engrossing theological inter-
est of the community, that there should have been from
time to time, agitating it, a brisk and vigorous polemical
excitement. This would have been as much in keeping

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVERSY. 347

with the fitness of things as are drill-parades and sliam-
fights for exercising regiments in camp. But it was those
developments and aggravations of the original elements of
the contention, the "inferences" and deductions of opin-
ion, the "exorbitant doctrines" and "unsavory speeches,"
that might well prompt Cotton, as we have seen, to plead
that he had been wrongfully claimed as in sympathy with
the extremes to which the controversy had been can-icd.

When a real or only a panic-like alarm struck through
the community of coming disasters forcnounced by " Reve-
lations," and memories were recalled of the Antinomian
and the Anabaptist abominations and prostrations of civil
order and decency in the Low Countries, in Munster, and
under John of Leydcn, Cotton might well enter his protest
against being cliarged with overt symiiathy with the revo-
lutionists. When he saw more than fifty of bis own flock
— some the most honored and foremost citizens of Bos-
ton— deprived of their arms, disfrancliised, and some
banished, he might shrink from being regarded as the
chaplain of sedition. But Cotton shifted the sentencing
upon Wilson as the pastor in the final scene.

Before pronouncing the first church censure of admoni-
tion upon Mrs. Hutchinson, Cotton recognized with warmth
and tenderness the deep and high esteem in which siie liad
been held in the community for lier generous and valued
services ; but he added that her recent course and heresies
had caused more liarin by exciting such distraction and
apprehensions of dread, even among her friends. " He laid
her sin to her conscience with much zeal and solemnity ;
he admonished her also of the height of her spirit: tiim
he spake to the sisters of the church, and advised them to
take heed of her opinions, and to withhold all countenance
and respect from her, lest they should harden her in her
sin." ' These were sad if not harsh and cruel words to

' Welde's Short Storj', etc., p. 62. Cotton says only one of her sons dis-
sented from her sentence of admonition. Welde says two.

348 THE PURITAN AGE.

be spoken ofTicially In' a revered teaclier to one of the most
worthy ami coiifidinti; of his flock. I liave found no trace
of any resentment, oi- I'ven of prief or disappointment, as
coniin>^ fi'oni Mi's. Hutchinson in return f(jr them.

Mr. John Chirke, one of tlie most prominent and hon-
ored of tiie lifty-ei)^lit nieniliers of the liostoii eliureh who
had been disarmed, had ah'eady [iroposed to some of his
censured bretliren a removal from the jurisdiction to some
lit jilacc for habitation. By advice of Roarer Williams and
other friends they settled at Pocasset, now Newport, R. 1.
They were soon followed by others of tlie banished or
disarmed, who made another settlement, at Portsmouth,
the head of the island. Plightecn of tliese e.xiles entered
into a civil compact, March 7, 1638, a fortnipbt preceding
the excommunication of Mrs. flutcliinson. Twelve of these
were members of the Boston eliureh, which afterward sent
messenLa'rs to deal with tlK'm as still under its " watch and
•ward." '

Two or three days after licr excommunication, Winthrop
sent to Mrs. Hutchinson warning her to comply with the
sentence of the Court, and to leave the jurisdiction by the
end of March. She had intended to accompany Wheel-
wright and his family to Kxeter, on the Piscataqua : but
her husliand having joined in the purchase of Rhode Island,
she went with him by land hrst to Providence, ^'igorous
measures were taken by the Court to rid the jurisdiction
as. soon as possible of all who were under its sentence of
banishment, if they would not retract and ajwlogize. There
was in consequence a considerable emigration to the Island
in the summer of the year. The efTects and consequences
were in every view lannMitable, especially in domestic,
social, and religious relations. The disrujitions between
menii)ers (tf families, and in ]U'ivate friendships, the aban-

' OiUcnilrr'H C.Ttury .'^irnioii, U. I. Hist. (^U., iv. Si. Tin- i.slnml w.is
ccdcil liy Iho IndiniiH. Mnnusorifit of Capt. Uolx'rt lipAyne, in Ciibinft of
Mas.sachiiFictt.s lliBlorical Society.

THE ANTINOMUN CONTROVERSY. 349

doument of cherished homes, and the sacrifices of property
were grievously submitted to. The Boston church seemed
to be threatened with absolute ruin by dissolution before
its first decade of life had closed. The loss of so many of
its best esteemed members, and the rancors and aliena-
tions among the remnant, must have tasked all the best
ellorts of those who sought for or offered edification in its
ministrations, or tried to heal the wounds of the aggrieved.
A period of many months, and even the slow process of.
years, was necessary for restoring peace. This was greatly
helped by the voluntary confessions or concessions, and the
return to its fold, one by one, of several who had been in-
flamed by the passions of the time, and who wen- ready to
admit more or less of wrong done by them and rcjiented
of, the church jrladly restoring tjiem.

But the most resolute and fully assured of the banished
offenders stood for the views and the course which they
had espoused. Their sufferings for a few distinctive opin-
ions, which need not have severed them from a general
attachment to the fellowship, creed, and discipline of the
Puritan Ciiurch, very naturally led them on to more ex-
pansion of thought and to freedom of speculation, resulting
in wide ranges and variances of opinions on religious sul)-
jects, and compelled them to recognize, if it did not per-
suade them to appiove, the full principles of toleration.
Individualism running often into eccentricities and imprac-
ticabilities for anything like accord and joint activity, was
the natuial result. We may trace to this settlement in
Rhode Island of so many banished Antinomians and their
sympathizers, rather than to the perhaps exaggerated lead-
ership of Roger Williams, tlie really most elfective first
step in the introduction of liberalism into the tlieocratic
commonwcaltli. Massachusetts, indeed, for a long time
was made to realize, and mournfully to regret, and try to
nullify or control, the results of her impolicy, — to look at
it only in that light, — of having prompted the vigorous

350 THE PURITAN AGE.

plaiitinif of a ncigliljor and rival colony, with antagonistic
jiiincijjli's, wliirli tilic rejraiili-d us tlio liot-ljed of all soi'ts
of wild and alarming:; fancies, follies, and mischievous no-
tions. Cotton Mather was [ironijitcd to say that if any man
or woman had lost a conscience, or wished to find one of
a Ki)ecial sort or license, he could lie accommodated in
Rhode Island. Nor was it strun;:e that ilassachusetts
should ](ut to service all the ingenuities of its jiolicy, with
some \enturcs in the arts of intrigue and adroitness, in a
series of intcrmcddlings with the affairs of Uliodc Island.
Tiiat island f(jr a while had a separate charter and admin-
istration of its own, but afterward came into junction
with Pro\idence Plantations, the two forming the present
State.

There was, however, one unruj)tured tie which still held
the banished and exiled members of tlie Boston church to
the once endeared fold, and that was the covenant of
" watch and ward." Dec. 13, 1G38, was observed in the Bay
as a solemn Fast, on account of prevailing sickness and
heresies, " and the general declining of professors to the
world." Cotton in his sermon, lugubrious and saddened
in hr;ii-t, reviewed the melancholy contention through which
they had been jiassing. He enlarged u[ion and sought to
c.xjilain and rectify the charges against himself, as already
stated, his name and alleged countenance of opinions which
he did not hold and had never expressed having been used
as a cloak or subterfuge. While approving the banish-
ment of the leaders in the strife, he recommended that oth-
ers under censure, instead of being sent out of the juris-
diction, which would sever them fiom religious oversight
or drive them into heresies, should be dealt with by the
chureli, or linei] or imprisoned.' Mrs. Ilulchinson antici-
jiated further action by the cluirch, considering that she and
it had reciprocal rights and duties. She therefore addressed
to it a letter of " admonition," wliich was not read because

' Wintliroii, i. 280.

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVERSY. 351

she was under sentence of excommunication.^ Reports
came to Massacliusetts that she continued to exercise her
gifts ; and also one of doubtful truth, that she had denied
the necessity and lawfulness of magistracy." Another re-
port was that admonished and excommunicated members
from Boston, and some " new professors," had joined with
others on the island in '' gathering a church in a disordered
way." Some of these venturing to visit Boston, when they
could be caught, were " dealt with ; " among these was the
head of the Island Colony, Mr. Coddington. Misfortunes
ill maternity by deformity of nature, which befell both Mrs.
Hutchinson and her friend Mary Dyer, were made the sub-
jects of distressing discussion as Divine judgments, and
much strengthened tlie popular feeling now increasing
against them among the superstitious.

The Boston church concluded to send a deputation —
Wclde says, "four men of a lovely and winning spirit;"
there were, however, only three — to the island on an effort
to reclaim Mrs. Hutchinson and others. Their report was
made to the church, March, 1(340. Ti:is was an interest-
ing rehearsal of the incidents of their journey, and of their
unsuccessful efforts in the purpose of their errand. The
church decided not to enforce a final severance of its hold
upon the recusants.'^

One of Mrs. Hutchinson's sons had remained in Boston
and with the cimrch. At this meeting he contented him-

1 Winthrop, i. 293.

2 Sec Letter of Cliicf-Justico Eddy, note to .Savage's Winthrop, i. 296, and
Baylic's " Dissuasive from tlie Errors of tlie Time," p. IM. Bayiie says tLat
Rojer Williams told liim that Mrs. })ut(.lunson held this opinion.

' This report, which is the only detailed account of such metliod in disci-
pline in the Boston church known to nie as extant, has a peculiar interest, but
is too long to Vic copie<l here. It is given in n thick manuscript from the pen of
Ciptain Keane, of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery, in the Cabinet of the
Massachusetts Historical .So<;iety. 1 have heretofore printed much of it from the
original in my Life of Mrs. Hutchinson in Sparks's American Biogra[iliy.
Keane was strictly orthodox. Those who had been disarmed had been com-
pelled to deposit their weapons with him.

352 THE POUITAN AGE.

si'lf witli cxprcssiiif;; a general disapproval of what had been
ddiic, declining U> open an argument. For tliiy the pastor
ri'priuKinded him. Another of her sons, Francis, who
would M(jt vote for the "admonition" (jf his mother, and so
had liccn admonished himself, whilr with his parents at the
Island, in a letter of July -0, 1<J40, asked dismission from
the church, which he could not now atti'iid, that he might
join another commuiiimi. 'I'his was refused, Ijecause that
other cumnnmion, hy Puritan usage, was not recognized as
a church at all. '• They could only reconnnend him to
God, and to the word of his grace, when there was any
such word for him to hear." ' The church felt kindly to
him, and addressed him as "our beloved brother." lie
was nut in full sympathy with his mother. Mr. William
Collins, a minister and schoolmaster in Gloucester, England,
and alterwaid in Hartford, becoming interested in Mrs.
Hutchinson's ca;>e, had visited her in Ncwjiort and bad
warmly eS]ionsrd her cause, expressing himself in very
sbarj) repi'oaches which reached Massachusetts. He mar-
riid a daughter of Mrs. Hutchinson. Venturing to come
to Uostiiu in the summer of 1G41, with his brother-in-law,
Francis, who was charged with calling the Boston church
" a strumpet," the treatment to wiiich they were subjected
indicates a sharp resentment and vengefulness. Their
repi'oaches of Goui't and t'burch must have been extremely
aLTgravating. They were imprisoned till a fine of a hundred
jiiiunds sli(juld br paid by Collins, and one of fifty jiounds
liy his companion. (.)ne might prefer to regard Winthrop
in the following entry in his Journal as rather the recorder
than the prompter of this vengefulness : —

" Wi' assrsseJ the fines llic liigluT, p;irtly lli:U by occasion thereof
thev nuLllit lie tlie l()ii;;iT kept ill from doing liarm (for they were
kept <l(ise jirisoiiers), and also because that family haci put the
country to so miicli eliarge in llie Synod, and oilier occasions, to

1 2 Mass. Hist. Coll., x. 184.

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVERSY. 353

the value of five hundred pounds at least. But after, because the
winter drew on, and the ]irison was inconvenient, we abated them '
to forty pounds and twenty pounds. But they seemed not willing
to pay anything. They refused to come to the church assemblies
except they were led, and so they came duly. At last we took
their own bonds for their fine, and so dismissed them." '

The cliarges on the records against these offenders are
worded thus : " Mr. William CoUens being found to be a se-
ducer, and his practices proved such," etc. " Francis Hutch-
inson, for calling the church of Boston a whoare, a strumfjet,
and other corrupt tenents," etc. Having given their persunal
bonds for their reduced fines, " when it shalbce called for,
if they bee able,'' they were free to leave the jurisdiction,
" not til return but at their utmost pcrill."-

Sorrows and tragic experiences gathered around the clos-
ing years of the life of Mrs. Hutchinson and of most of the
members of her very large family. The treatmi'ut of her
son and son-in-law in Boston, and the annoying messages
constantly coming from the Boston church and others, ke[jt
open many wounds. But surrounded as she was liy eccen-
tric and self-willed opinionists of all discordant notions, she
endeavored with a group of friends to maintain an orderly
religious assemlily. There was no lack of the means of
subsistence on her beautiful island. Her hushanil, though
lie may have been, as Winthrop says, " a man of weak
parts," and never appears to have stood manfully in her
support or defence, nevertiiclcss followed her fortunes, and
called her a " dear saint and servant of God." He died in
1642. Sad it was for him, after having crossed the ocean
with friends of his youth, for sympathy in faith, to be re-
strained from intercourse with them, though so near. After
his death Mrs. Hutchinson, then probably fifty years of age,
with all her family except a daughter and a son, to be soon
referred to, moved from the island to the Dutch settlements

> Journal, ii. 38-40. ' Rerords, i. 336, 340, 341.

23

354 THE PURITAN AGE.

noar Astoria, or IIcll fiatc. Many otliors moved with her,
a]i[irchcn{lin<;; tiiat Massachusetts, on some arbitrary pre-
ti'iii'cs, inii:ht at(oin|it jiirisdirtiou over the island. The
Indians were tlien in open hostility with tiie Dutch, in pil-
lai^t', hurninf^, and massacre. In one of their raids, in
An!::nst, 1()4.'S. Mrs. Ilutchinsijn, Mr. ('(^llins and wife, prand-
ehildrcn, and all the rest of the family save one child, with
neitrhbors, in all bcinp si.xteen [)ersons, perished by a lamen-
table fate. In conformity with the grim and unforgiving
spirit of her opponents this fate was by many regarded as
the special judgment of an angry Providence, whicli had
already visited lier pride, contumacy, and delusions with " a
curse upon the fruit of her wimib." The child of eight years
of age which was spared and taken away by the Indians
was, four years afterward, restored through the Dutch
governor to her friends, at the conclusion of a peace.
Winthrop says she " had forgot her own language, and all
her friends, and was loath to have come from tlie Indians." *
It is grateful now to gather some of the tokens and in-
cidents of reconciliation, and effective though slow and cau-
tious recuperation from the rents and passions of this con-
vulsing strife, which nearly wrecked the fortunes of the Bay
('i)lony. However some of the most exasperated enemies
of Mrs. Hutchinson may have viewed the tragic method of
lier death, we may trace from its occurrence the rise and in-
crease <if regrelful and forgiving feelings. With the single
e.xception of William Coddington, all wlio had been most
devoted to the cause of Mrs, Hutchinson shared in tliese
reconcilements. He was a thriving Txiston merchant and
the owner of much property. He had built the first brick
house in Boston. Becoming after liis banishment chief
ruler, and dying as Tiovernor, of Rhode Island, under tlie
charter he had secured for it, he continued steadfast to his
protest against MassacJiusetts, " that his dissent miglit
appear to succeeding times." William Aspinwall, hon-

' Winthrop, ii. 20)7.

THE ANTINOMUN CONTROVERSY. 355

orcd as deacon and deputy of Boston, after having served
as secretary of Rhode Island Colony, regretted his course
of opposition to court and church. Applying, as one ban-
ished, for liberty to visit Boston, he there, Marcii 27, 1G42,
tendered his submission, and was reconciled to the church.
Winthrop says " he made a very free and full acknowledge-
ment of his error and scducemcnt, and that with much
detestation of his sin." ' He did the same before the magis-
trates, and was reinstated by the Court. He afterward man-
ifested his enthusiasm of sjiirit by countenancing the ideas
of the Fifth Monarchy men. In November, 1639, the Court
ordered " that all that were disarmed, remaining amongst
us, carrying themselves [leaceably, shall ha\e their arnics
restored to them.'" ^

It must have been with calm satisfaction and the aji-
proval of his own conscience for the course wliicli he had
pursued, assured by the synijiathyof those around him, that
Governor Winthrop made the following entry in hisPIistory,
in the autumn of llJo'J : —

" Bv this time thore appeared a great rhan;:^ in tlu' rhurcli of
Boston ; for wliere.as tlie year lioforc they were all ('save five or
six) so affected to Jlr. Wlieehvriglit and Mrs. Iluteliinson, and
those new opinions, as thev sliiihti'd the present governoiir and the
pastor [Wilson], looking at tliem as men under a covenant of works,
and as their greatest enemies ; hut they hearing all patiently, and
not withdrawinj; tliemselves (as they were strongly solieiled to
have done), but carrying tliemselves lovingly and helpfully upon all
occasions, the Lord brought about the hearts of all the people to
love and esteem them more than ever before, and all breaches were
made up, and the church was saved from ruin beyond all expecta-
tion ; which could hardly have been (in human reason; if those two
had not been guided by the Lord to that moderation, etc. And the
church (to manifest their hearty affection to the governour, ujion
occ.ision of some strait he was brought into through his bailiff's un-
faithfulness) sent him £200." '

1 Winthrop, ii. 62. ^ Record?, i. 278. • Winthrop, i. 323.

o.'iG THE PURITAN AOE.

IliM-e rfrtainly was a peaceful triumph modestly appre-
liiitrd, ;iiii| ;i (rrutcfiil tribute toiicbiM^'ly rendered. The
tril't to Wiiitludp, wlicii liis prixati' cstute was impaired bv
the Iraiiil oi a Ker\aiil, was not from the Colony treasury,
but fidui tlie private purses of those who shortly before
had refrarded and treated him with stioiifr axcrsion. I am
well aware that some will judj^e me partial to Winthrop.
But it is from this and many like incidental marks to he
traced throufrh the course of tlir brfaeh opened by Vane
and Wheelwright that 1 have been led to allow less of cen-
sure than some of his critics have expressed uyjon some
oijjcctionable attitudes and utterances of his, which cer-
tainly were not judicial, in the tiial uf Mrs. Hutchinson.
Incidentally the paragra|ih which has just been quoted
brings us very close to the critical risks, the intensity of
a popular animosity, hafipily but uf brief crintinuance, and
tiie method of a genial conciliation, marking the ripening
and then the cfioling of the Antinomian schism. It seems
that Winthrop and AVilson, having at one time but five or
si.x of the whole church membership on their side, had been
advised to witlnlraw themselves. Cotton, tliough sustained
by all the rest, had in his distraction or disgust for a while
entertained the purpose of aliandiuiing liis charge and go-
ing to Connecticut. Under these circumstances I cannot
but infer that it was the constancy and solid wisdom of
Winthrop, the founder, the statesman, tiie pure and devoted
servant of tlie Colony, tiiat saxed it, in the dismay of an
internal convulsion, from absolute anaichy.

More grateful still is it to mention the valuable ser-
vices rendered to the Commonweallh by the forgiving de-
scendants of Mrs. Hutchinson. Her son Samuel, who jiad
remaiiu'd in Boston under a (doud, was submitted for ex-
amination by the chb'rs Wilson and Kliot, and if found
"Bound in judgment" was to be fiee to dwell jiere.' He
jirovcd a usefid citizen. One of Mrs. Hutchinson's daugh-

I H mis, i. 33S.

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVERSY. 357

ters was the wife of Major Tliomas Savage, afterward a dis-
tinguislied cajitaiii of tlie Ancient and Honorable Artillery
Conipany. Though one of the " disarmed " sympathizers,
he remained in Boston, was made commander-iii-eiiief of
the forces of Massacliusetts in the Indian war, and was
a member of the Council. His descendant, tlie Hon.
James Savage, the incomparable editor of Winthrop's
Journal, in his annotations on the tlovernor's text, treats
with great skill and naivete the case of his ancestress,
and introduces some pleasant banter into the narrative of
the tempestuous contest. By a curious coincidence, Major
Savage, on the death of his lluteliinson wife, married a
daugliter of Elder Symmes, of Ciiarlestown, a fellow-pas-
senger and resolute opjionont of Mrs. Hutchinson, and an
effective witness against her on lier trial. A giandson of
Elder Welde, wliosc enmity stnjipcd littb' .sliuit of caiuniny
u[ion licr, became the husband of one of lier great-grand-
daugliters. Anotlier of her sons, Edward, who, thougli
disarmed for a time, remained in Bostun, did good mili-
tary service, and as a captain in Philip's War was latally
wounded in the Quaboag fight. He was the great-grand-
father of Thomas Hutchinson, nnfortuiiate in his career as
a Roval flovernor of Massachusetts, but highly honored in
many [>rcceding olTiees and services, not the least of wliicli
is his alile and faitliful work asliistorian of the Colony. He
also, in his impai-tial and judicious account of the Antiiio-
mian controversy, is far from ('spousing any ardent eham-
j)ionship of his famous ancestress.

To this list of the reconciled ami the restored, though
after a longer interval, must be added the name of the
prime lieresiarch and offender, Wheelwright. He had a
long and varied career, attracting and repelling friends and
enemies, earnest in work, stirring contentions, standing
stiffly for his opinions and rights, but with a prevailing pur-
pose of fidelity in all things. He was minister successively
to flocks in Exeter, Wells, and Hampton. By the following

SSS THE PURITAN AGE.

I'litrv on the Court Records, Sept. 27, 1G42, it would scein
tliat there liad been an intervention on liin behalf. " The
petition f(jr Ml. W'liei/lwrifrht, if hee himself jx/tition the
Court at Ijoston, they shall have power to grant him safe
eonduct," Another i-ecord, under May, 1643, is as follows :
"Mr. Wlieelri;.;lit liad a safe ei^iduct granted, and liberty
to stav 14 davs, so it bee within tlir(.'e months next ensu-
ing." Prompted iiy friends, he addressed a letter unneces-
sarily humiliating in its tone to the Massaciiusctts Court, in
Septemljcr, 1(J43. Tiiis was ungraciously, not to say meanly,
misconstrued. He wi'ote another, of a more guarded char-
acter, in March, 1644, in which he refused to admit the " in-
ferences " which had been drawn fioni his a\'owed opinions.
Winthrop wished him to appear in jicrson. To tliis, how-
ever, lie was not inclined, though the relenting Governor
thought tliat "a wise and modest apology" by mouth would
help his cause.' But "the next Court released his banish-
ment without his appearance." The record is as follows :

" It is orderiMl thai Mr. Wheelwrijjht (upon a particuler, solemnc,
anil seriou.s ackiiowledgnient and confession by letters, of his evill
carriages, an<l of the Court's justice upon him for them) hath his
banishment taken of, and is received in as a member of the com-
monwtaltli." •*

This record is certainly not worded with any magnanim-
ity of tone, indicating that liis old associates were pleased
to meet him half-way. I cannot find whether he ever vis-
ited Boston again. In 165") or 16")6 he made a voyage to
England, and had converse witii his old college friend the
Pr(jtector. 'I'he)- must have compared their opinions as
to the characler and spirit of Vane. On the Uestoration,
Wheelwright returned liere, in the summer of 16C2. He
aided, and succeeded in tlie ministry at Salisbury, the
unfortunate (ieorge Biirroiigh, afterward executed in the

' The inteicstiriR rorrr.spimili'iice is in llic Journul, ii. lG'J-104.
2 RceoiJs, ii. 67, May, 16J4.

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVERSY. 369

witchcraft panic, and died suddenly of apoplexy, Nov. 15,
1679, aged eighty-seven years. His last feud was with
Robert Pike, known as the " New Puritan."

There is hardly occasion to review with many comments
the distracting and tragic narrative wiiich has been given
at sufficient len<rth. The struggle was one of the series of
strifes and assaults which aimed at the very life of the
Biblical commonwealth. Roger Williams had stood al-
most alone, without a party, and with but few sympathizers
in his bold radicalism. There had been no prompting or
desire to secure a reconciliation with him ; and as for any
wish that may have been cherished that he might meet
with due retribution, this must have been fully met, by
learning with what an intractable and harassing fellow-
ship of come-outers, seekers, and disorgauizers he had to
deal. He nmst often have felt as does a traveller treading
his difficult way through swamps and thickets, beating olf
a swarm of buzzing and stinging insects. But he was ad-
mirably furnished for such exposures, and always had a
serene refuge within himself amid ail externals and bufl'et-
ings. He did no permanent harm to Massachusetts. He
was its protector and benefactor.

But the Antinomiau controversy was most threatening
of convulsion, disaster, and of a final ovcrwiiulming ca-
tastrophe. Its unintelligible elements, its obscure and
mystifying oracles, made a penumbra of dread shadows
around an almost equally undelinable nucleus that might
be falsehood or truth. The conllict was thoroughly Puri-
tanic in all its features aud materials. The Covenant
covered and held both parties to it, though it forked into
a dilemma of Faith and Works. Of the many points
which the matter of the contention and the method of
dealing with it offer for remark there are two which
may briefly engage us

The first of these is that the contention found its occsr
sion and the mode in which it would be pursued and aggra-

860 THE PUUITAN AGE.

vatcd in (he tlicocratic form of tlie colonial administraticjii.
'I'lir contro\('is\- was in its suhstancc jiuix'ly a doctrinal one.
As such it niii^lit ])ro|ierly have Ijcen conlined within the
terms of chureli disei|iliu(' and dis]iosed of by church mem-
bers. And as it bej-'an and for tin,' most part was confined
within the covenanted fold of tln' lioston churcli, tuo very
mischievous and seeminfrly ni'edles.s ajreneies came in to
extend and complicate the controversy. One of these was
tlie intermeddling of other churches in it thr(JULdi tlie in-
tei'position of a synod. But the synod was invited and
rnipowered for this intermeddlinL'' by the advice of that
other agent of mischief, the General Coui'l. The civil arm
of the Biblical commonwealth was engaged to dispose of
a doctrinal variance between churcli members. The rea-
son given for this civil interposition, tlnjugh consistent
with the theocratic ])rinei[)le, was that Antiniimian doc-
trines threatened civil order and pure morals. This justi-
fication was not wholly unsujiported by thoroughly sincere
leasons and aii|irehensions incident to the time and cir-
cumstances of the strife. The difference between living
under a " covenant of faith " and a " covenant of works,"
as distinguished literally by ]iersons of ordinary intelli-
gence, would bi.' the difTerence between being rigidly re-
strained in conduct by external commands, rules, and
practical scruples, and the nmre or less of laxity, as one
or another might apply the rule to himself, in life and be-
havior, of a private internal guide. The immoialities and
abominations of fanatical Antinomians in (lermanv in the
previous eentui'y had nut pas.sed from memorv, nor from
living reference to them. It would be the grossest injus-
tice to ascriiie to one like Winthrop a reliance upon })Oor
credulih' in his apprehension of s(uni' fanatical outburst
here, 'i'lif disainiiiig nf <'iti/,ens was not the impulse of
aM\ bugl)ear CDiiccit. 'I'bc ciintiov ersv had reached a
reallv ajarming stage. So tlic ('nurt. acting for the tlie-
oeracv, with an unipiailing fi'ont, and daring the risk of

THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVKRSY. 361

the most decisive measures if it should be overmastered
or thwarted, brought either its vengefuhiess or its discre-
tion, as we may decide tlie alternative, to crush the threat-
ening anarchy.

The other ])oint of importance to which we must allow a
very serious concern on the part of the constituted authori-
ties of the Colony, looked beyond their own imnicdiatc sur-
roimdings and constituency. There aie many e.xtant and
very emphatic evidences of the an.Kiety felt by tlii' authori-
ties liere, — those most vitally interested in the security and
good repute of the Colony, — to guard it from re[iroacli and
slander in England. Vane had carried home witli him the
accouut of the sad dissensions; but he was of too generous
a nature to mingle any malignity in his rejiort, or to aggra-
vate them. Massachusetts through its wiiule colonial
period, and indeed for smne time afterward, till its era
of Independence, always was an.\ious and careful to have
warm friends, even strong partisans and pleaders, in both
religious and [lolitical gniups. iirar tn the government. It
depended upon these to ex])lain its course of action and
to stand for it against its impii^ners and enemii's. And
there is one point bearing ujion this matter on wliich it
would be impossible to lay undue stress. Massachusetts
was jealous of its good repute for an orderly, sober, dig-
nified, and serious form of citizenaliip, grave and watchful
maintenance of mural rectitude, and freedom from every
form of the fanaticism and license and discord of secta-
rism. It intencJed that in all the interests of jiiivate, do-
mestic, social, and civil life its standard shoulil be even
above that whicli was recognized under the disci|)line of
the Church of England. How lamentable, then, the a]ipre-
iiension of the effect on tlieir friends or tlieir enemies at
home of the reports of the distractions in the Colony.
They took all the care they could to correct or nullify this
effect. Pas.sengers for England at this crisis were in-
structed to put the best construction possible on the con-

862 THE PURITAN AGE.

tfiition, by uxpliiiiiiuj^ lhu.t the tw(j parlies to the strife
dilTercd only "as to how tliey iiiif^iit most magnify the
grace of (iod in them or i(j tliem." Doubtle.ss the stiff and
severe measures of the ('ourt were relied upon as showing
to friends aliroad the intt'ntion and ability to crush do« ii
the threatening misciiief and its abettors. In concluding
this review, it should perha[)s be intimated that as the
authorities on their Records give no intimation that they
ever rejientcd of, regretted, apologized for, or retracted any
of their penalties, except to sui)|)liants, and that all the
concessions, retractations, and petitions came from the dis-
comfited party, this result may be taken as vindicating the
justice and policy of the Court. But this conclusion might
be gravely questioned.

X.

A JESUIT ENJOYS TURITAN HOSPITALITY.

It is a relief to turn awliile from tlie sombreness of the
matter of some of the preceding pages, and before dcahng
with the yet more painful matter of pages that are to
follow, to entertain fur the moment a more genial theme.
This presents to us a charming view (jf some social amenitit-a
extended to a Jesuit visitor in tiie Puritan Colony, who, m
his character of an envoy from the Governor of the Frencli
Colonists in Canada, circulated here freely as a welcome
guest in private homes and at public tables. Had he ven-
tured here in any jirivate capacity, his reception w(]uld have
been an ungracious one, and his lodging would ha\e been
in the jail. Dreaded as were Antinomians, Baptists, and
Quakers by the magistrates and Court of the Bay, a Jesuit
priest concentrated upon himself their sternest antif)athie3
and tlieir hate. Indeed, one of the fancies passing into
dark i-umora connected with the coming of the first Quakers
here was that they were Franciscan friars in disguise,
on some errand of mischief. The Court of the Bay, in
attem[)ting afterward to vindicate its capital law against
the Quakers, ventured to plead that it had dealt with them
as English law, then inquisitorial and relentless, with tor-
tures and the block, dealt with Papal intriguers. So we
find a law on our court records anticijiating a possible
occasion for its u.se.

There is an historic interest in the wording of this law
in which the Colony Court followed the lead of the mother
country. It is as follows : —

364 ■ THE I'UaiTAN AGE.

M:iv 20, lfM7. "This Coiirlc ukin;,' into consideration the
cjnal w:irrs, ((iiiiliuslioiis, and divisions wImcI] arc tliis day in
Kurii]ir, :i]]ii that tlie same arc olibcrvcd to lje chicHy raised and
foniiiitcd liv tlie secret underminin;,'s and solicitationR of those
of llie .lesuitirall ordi-r, men lirou;:l]t up and devoted to the relig-
ion and eourte of Rome, \\'liich hath occasioned diverse states to
ex))ell thcni tlieir territories, for [irevention of like evils among
ourselves, it is (herefiire orderi/d and enacte-d by authority of this
Courte, that no .lesuil or spiritual! or ecclesiasticall person (as they
are tearmed) onlained by the authority of the pope or sea of Rome,
shall henceforth at any time repair to or come within this jurisdic-
tion ; and if any jjcrson shall give just cause of susjjition, that he is
one of such society or order, he shalbe brought before some of the
magistrates, and if he cannot free himselfe of such suspition, he
shalbe committed or bound over to the next Courte of Assistants,
to be tried and proceeded with by banishment or otherwise, as
the Courte shall see cause ; and if any such person so banished
shalbe tiiken the second time within this jurisdiction, he shall
upon law full triall and conviction be put to death." '

Exceptions are made for the shipwrecked, public messen-
gers, and seamen, coming peacefully, behaving inoffen-
sively, and dc])arting.

The joahmsics leading to actual hostilities, with their
chronic rivalries and contentions between the English and
the French colonists for mastery on this cuntineut, wliicli
extended over a century and a half, were preceded b\- some
desultory infcrcourse through messengers. It is amusing
to read ill Winllirop the gingerly and cautious recognition
of the visits to IJoston of these "Papistical" personages.
In l(i4;5 the Court had been greatly exercised by the call
for its mediation or hostile action in the (puirrel between
l)',\iilu;iv and La 'J'our. The Scriptures were searched
lioni begiiiniug to end by tiie niagisti'ales and ciders in
theii' disputations, fur w ai'nings, prohibitions, or sanctions
in emergent cases, as to entering into dealings or alliances

' Itcciinl.s, ii. Iil3.

A JESUIT ENJOYS PURITAN HOSPITALITY. 365

with "idolaters;" Papists boinp allowed by all to be such.
Jehos]Kipl\at, Ahab, Josias, Ainaziah, Pharaoh Necho, and
others are put to service. Reference is made to this matter
here only to note tlie mention by Winthrop tliat in the
retinue of La Tour, when he arrived in Boston, Marcli 4,
1643, were '-two friars and two women sent to wait upon
La Tour his lady." Tiiese "friars" seem for the most
part to have considerately remained on shipboard. But
Wintlirop tells us : —

"Of the two friars wliicli came in this ship, the one was a very
learned acute man. Divers of our ehJers who had conftTcnce with
him reported so of him. They came not into the town, k-st tiiey
should give offence, but once, being brought by some to see Mr.
Cotton and confer with him ; and when they came to depart, the
chief came to take leave of the governour and two elders of Bos-
ton, and showed himself very thankful for the courtesy they found
among us." '

Ac:ain, in September, 164fi, Monsieiu' d'Aulnay, with two
more of these Papists, arrived in Boston on the I^ord's Day.
After tlie exercises of public worship, witli scrupulous con-
sideration courteous liospitalities were extended to the
visitors bv the Governor. Lingering: in their visit, Win-
thro[) tells us : —

"The Lord's day thev were here, the governour, arqnaiiiting
them witli our manner, that all men either c-(jriie tu our [luhlic
meetings, or keep themselves (juiet in their houses, and hnding
that the place where they lodged would not be convenient for
them that day, invited them iiome to his house, where they con-
tinued private all that day until sunset, and made use of suih
books, Latin and French, as lie had, and the liberty of a private
walk in his garden, and so gave no offence," etc'

There is a charming naivetd in this relation. No doubt
the urbane Governor used the most delicate terms for

1 Winthrop, ii. 127. ' Ibid., ii. 275.

3G6 THE PUUITAN AGE.

infomiiiic; tlie Papists tliat if they would not |to to '' mect-
iiif:," no strolling about tlie streets was allowed in Boston
on the Salihath. ]>ut what constrained relations were thus
exhibited between (,'hristian disciplrs!

As referenre is stKin to be made to the fishing and truck-
ing jilacc of the I'lyniouth people near the Kennebec, an-
other matter may have an incidental interest.

Our historians have long recognized something unex-
plained in the relations between the famous pepjjery-tem-
pered — but for his prowess invaluable — military captain,
Mill's Standish, and the Pilgrims at Pl\ mouth. He had
followed their fortunes from liis service in the Low Coun-
tries, and was constant to and fully trusted by them. But
lie was not under their church covenant, though not shock-
ing them otlicrwise than by free speech. It has been sug-
gested that the e.x[ilanation may be that Standish, loyal to
the faith of his ancestry and family, may have been an
adherent of tlie old Church, being quietly reticent on the
matter. He was always reaiiy to go in his jiinnace for
trucking with the Indians at the Kennebec. Here on his
visits he might easily have had the services of a priest for
adjustintr his conscience.

The French in Canada had received several tenders for
negotiations from the Miissaehusctts Colonists, for the
peaceful coniiuct of trade, and for amity, even if their
nionarchs should be at war at home. In 1G50, Father
Gabriel Druillette, of the Company of Jesus, a man of a
gentle and devout spirit, and one of the most heroic of
missionaries, was faithfully ])ursuing his toilsome work for
the Abenaquis in |iarts of the region disputed between the
two crowns as Aeadie in lti4(i. He had, as he believed,
by a miracle, recoxered his sight wlioUy lost in tln^ smoke
of Indian cabins. His red cat(>(humens were warmlv at-
tached to him for his zeal and kindness. The Ficnch in
their alliance with the Hurnns and Algonquins had of
course been conqielied to esjiouse their enmity with the

A JESUIT ENJOYS PURITAN HOSPITALITY. 367

Five Nations of New Yorlc, tlie ferocious Iroquois. The
English had iiad no troulile with tiiese warlilve tribes, and
one of tliem, tlic Mohawlcs, had always been in friendly
relations with the Dutch, up the Hudson. With a view to
engage the English Colonies in alliance with tlie French
against the Iroquois, as well as to promote a league for
trade, D'Ailleboust, the Governor of Canada, sent Dru-
illette in 1650 with the credentials of an ambassador on
that errand. He hoped that the bribe of trade would
secure the alliance of arms bv drawing from the English
military aid. We have the good Fatlirr's Journal of his
mission ; and it is because of his genial narration of tiie
kindness which he- received, not only from Englishmen,
but from grim Puritans, that full particulars from it are
given here.'

The Father left Qurl)ec on the first of September with
one of his Indian converts, a chief. Passing through
Narautsonat (Norridgewook), the highest settlement of the
Indians on tlie Kennebec, he met at the jiresent Augusta
the " Commissioner Jehan Winslau." Tliis was John
Winslow, the agent of Plymouth at its factory, or trucking-
house, on the Kennebec. Tiie Father took most fondly to
Winslow, who, he says, treated him with much kindness,
and they lodged together. He believed Winslow to be
warmly interested in the conversion of the savages, as
was his brother Edward, then the agent of the Colonics to
Parliament. Druillette says that he wrote of these mat-
ters to his Governor and Superior at Quebec. Winslow,
at his own inconvenience, made the difficult foot-journey
with the priest to Maremiten (Merry-Meeting Bay). On
the 25th of September the latter embarked on an Eng-
lish vessel, seeing the English fishermen at Temeriscau

1 Narr^ dii Voyage faict pour la Mission des Abnaquiois, et Ues Connais-
sances tirez de la Nouvelle Angleterre et des dispositions des Magistrals de
cette Repuhlique pour Ic seconrs contre les Iroquois, H annees 1650 and 1651.
Par Le R. Pi;re Gabriel Druillette, de la Compagnie de Jesus. Quebec.

'MS THE PURITAN AfiE.

( I>ainaris-Covc). Cuiitriirv wIikJs delayed liis reaching
Ke]i:ui(^ (Cape Ann) till Ilereiiilicr h. Thence bv foot-
travel and lioat lie came t(j Cliai'lestown, wliere, IiIh mis-
sion bciiii^ reco^iiii/.ed, lie was direct(!d to cross tin; river to
IJoston, to the lionse of " Maj. fJeii. fii'bin," to whose affec-
tion he had been enmnienijed i)\ bis friend Winslow.

The Father could not have fallen into better hands
than those of Maj. -(Jen. Edward (Jiljbons, a man of elastic
conscience, and of worse than dubious habits, thouLdi in
covenant a church member, and at times before the courts.
He was one of that not small class of picturestjuc and loose
men. Captain Underhill being the most cons[iicuous speci-
men, who were somewhat leniently tolerated in our early
days for their needful military ser\ice. This '• Sieur
Ciebin," as the jiriest writes, invited him to his hospitali-
ties and charged him to make no other luiuse his home
while he remained here. The following sentence is sug-
gestive : " Sieur (iebin me donna un clef d"un departement
en sa maison ou je ponvais avec toute liberte faire ma
prii^re et les c.xcrcices de ma religion." In thus furnishing
the priest with a key and a pi'ivate chamber where he
might sav his jiravers and ]ierform the exercises of his
religion, the Puritan church member — it would have been
to the scandal of his more rigid bi-ethren had they known
it — connived at the performance of jirobably the first Mass
in Boston. On the J-!th of December Gibbons accompanied
the priest to a village distant from IJoston which he calls
" Rogsbrav," — known to us as Roxbury, — where he was
to present himself with his ereilentials to that austcrest of
Puritans, Governor Dudley. The (Governor having opened
the papers and listened to a translation of them by an in-
terpreter,' courteously promised to lay them before the
magistrates in Boston, before whom the priest was to pre-
sent himself on the 13th of the month. On that day the

' Dudlpy ou(»ht to have kept his Fr? nch, as EndicDtt did, (ot lie had sorvid
in till' Huguenot army under Henry IV.

A JESUIT ENJOYS PDRITAN HOSPITALITY. 369

Governor, magistrates, secretary, and one deputy received
him at dinner, after which the)' listened to his message.
Then he was asked to retire for a wliile that they might
confer together. Being summoned again to supper, he re-
ceived tlieir answer. The priest does not tell us what it
was, hut we are infoimed about it. The tour Colonies,
Massachusetts, Plymoutli, Connecticut, and New Haven,
having formed a union for certain general interests, nei-
ther of them could enter into such measures as the Gov-
ernor of Canada desired, without consultation and accord.
So the priest would he informed that his mission must
come before the commissioners, two from each Colony, at
their next meeting. He had jileaded before the magis-
trates, he says, in behalf of his Abenaquis eateciiuniens
against the murderous Iroipiois. It was intimati'il to him
that as the catechumens whom he represented at Kennebec
were under tlie jurisdictiou of I'lymouth, his apjilication
might well be made to the authorities of that Colony.
Spending the interval douljtless with his friend Gibbons, he
started on the 21st for I'lymoutli, arriving the next day,
where he lodged with " one of the five farmers at Kenne-
bec named padis " [Paiidy]. He was received witii courtesy
bv the Governor " Je-lirentfonl," — whose name, liowever,
was William IJradford, — and an audience was apjiointed
f(jr the next day. He was also invited to a repast of fish
which tiie Governor fitted to his "occasion," knowing the
day to be Friday. The priest found favor among the people
of the town, and Capt. Tiiomas WiUcts supported his a[)[)li-
cation to tlie (Governor, and no doubt he felt rncouragcd.
Thougli he does not mention the result, we learn from tiie
Plymouth court records of June, lO.Jl, tliat the C(jurt did
not favor the design of allowing the French to pass through
their jurisdiction for purf)Oses of war.

On the 24th of Decemlier the priest started by land for
Boston, with the son and nephew of his friend Gibbons, who,
he says, paid his charges on the route.

24

370 THE PURITAN AGE.

And now wo have to present to ourselves a notable scene.
The priest writes: "On my way I ariived at Rojrsbra}',
where the minister, named Master heliot, who was instruct-
ing some Ravages, received me to lodge with him, as tlic
night had overtaiven me. He treated me witli respect and
affection, and [irayed nie to jiass tlir winter with him."
Here is a scene that might well engage the jieiicil of an
artist wliose svnipatliies responded tf) the subject. Two
men, then in the vigor of life, -who were yet to pass their
fourscore years in their loved but j)Oorly rewarding labors
for tlie savages, separated as the poles in their leligious
convictions, principles, and methods, trained in antipathies
and zealous hostility to each other, arc seen in simple, hu-
man, loving converse as kind host and responsive stranger
guest. The liumble sitting and working room of the Apos-
tle Eliot, in liis modest cottage, has tlie essentials of com-
fort, and there is a guest-chamlier. Around the heurtlistone
arc two or three Indian cliildren, which Eliot always had
near him as pufiils, while he himself was a learner from
some docile ciders of the race whose '■ barbarous tongue" he
was seeking to acquire through grunts and gutturals, that
he might set fortli in it " the whole oracles of God." His
hopeful experiment in the Indian village at Natick had
recently been put on trial. The jiriest was, after his own
different fasliion, spending himself in his own work. The
aims of both were the same; their methods witlelv unlike:
Eliot's most severe in its exactions, the jiriest's lenient and
indulgent in its conditions. Eliot insisted tliat the savages
"should be iirouglit to civility," abandoning all wildwood
roaming, be humanized, cleanly, clothinl, and trained in
home and field industries. They should be taught to pray,
be put through a course of Calvinistic divinitv, and have
the Scriptures "o|ieue(l" to them in their own tontrue.
The priest pestered his catechumens as little as j)ossililo l>}'
crossing their native instincts for a free life in the wilder-
ness. The ro.sary, the crucilix, and the sacraments, with

A JESUIT ENJOTS PURITAN HOSPITALITY. 371

repeated prayer and creed, and the procession following the
arbored cross, were his agencies for salvation.

It was the Christmas season when the Puritan minister
and the Jesuit priest thus blended their alienating antijja-
tliies into reconciling s^'mpathies in consecrated ■work.
Perhaps their conversation was in Latin, though Eliot was
an accomplislied scholar, and might have the mastery of
the French. The two might have spent the winter prof-
itably together. They certainly would have passed it
amicalily. The evening and morning devotions of the
Puritan household, with grace and blessing at each meal,
must have kept tlieir wonted course ; while the faithful
priest had his oratory, his orisons, and his matin Mass
before breaking his fast.

Druillette returned to Boston on the '29th of December,
and reported himself to " Major (!en. gucbin." The nrs.t
dav he had speech with " Sicur Ebens [Hibbina] one of
the magistrates, wlio encouraged biin with the hope that tlie
Governor of Plymouth would atlord him help against the
Iroquois, saying "that it was reasonable to aid iirotlier
Cliristians, thougli of another religion, especially against
a Pagan persecution of Christians." He received through
Hibbius the answer of the Governor iuid magistrates of
Boston, not telling ns what it was, though probably as be-
fore stati'd. The last of tlie month lie went to Iloxlmry to
take leave of Dudley. The (Jovernor assured hiui tiiat the
wav through Boston sliould be ojien for any of tlie French
who wished to go against the Iroquois, and wished liim to
inform his own Governor of the desire of Massachusetts to
be at amity with liim, even tliough war should sjiring up
between the two crowns. Dudley also expressed his belief
that the Governor of Plymouth would comply with the
wi.shes of the French for help against tlie Iroquois, and
promised all in his power in aid of the measure. The
priest the next day, being January 1, wrote a letter to
his brother Jesuit, Le Jeune, to be franked by an ^Eiiglisli

372 TIIK I'URITAN AGE.

vessel to sail on tlie 8tli, asking a rcfily to 1)C sent to Boston
iin some matters coiieeriiiii<i; the fislieries at (iaspce. IIo
also wrote to Ivlward Winslow, by sugtrestion of his lirotiier,
sdlieitiiig him to address the cominissiuiiei's of the four
('(ildiiies in favor of his eaiise. lie made a similar ajiyieal
til .liiliii Wiiithro]), Jr., (Jiivernor of " Keiiili^rout," — "a
\'ery tcood friend of the French and the savages." Ilis
friend Gibbons promist'd his ci)-o|)eration, iiut frankly told
liim that he thoiiirht tlie people of Iioston would not aid
him, as it would aliiiiate the Iroquois, and thus interfere
with a design for a new jirojeet of a settlement in the in-
terest of New Sweden. January 5, Gibbon conducted the
priest to the harbor and commended him stroiiL'ly to
•■ Thomas Yau," master of a bark about sailing for Kenne-
bre. The 9th of the month bad weathei- stopped liim at
Morbletz ( Maiblehead), where, among many persons, the
minister, William Walter, " received me with great affection,
anil I went in his company to Salem to have speech with
Sieur Indicott, who understands and s|ieaks Frcncli well, is
a good friend of that nation, and very earnest that his
childien should retain that affection. Seeing that I had
no money he supplied me, and treated at his table for eight
days the magistrates who gave audience to e\eryiiody. I
left with him a letter to advance my object with the Gen-
eral Court to be held in Boston on the tliii'teenth of May.
He assured me that he would do his utmost to iulluence
the Boston Colony, which served as a lead for the olliers,
saying that the Governor of Plymouth had a good cause for
asking aid fiom tlie other colonies. At my departure he
said he was miirh pleased that 1 IkuI left a wi'iling on the
pait of my (loxernor and my catechumens, which he tiior-
oughly ajiproved, and that he would despatch a man to take
a b'ller for me to the Keiinebee that would inform me of
what had been done."

'I'his is certainly a very graceful and genial narrative.
'I'he Freneii (!o\ernor had a faitiiftd and accomplished

A JESUIT ENJOYS PURITAN HOSPITALITY. 373

diplomatic servant on his errand, coming out of the woods
and his rude eomiiaiiionship, to pass freely and without of-
fence among those who in person, speech, manners, and the
ways of their homes, were the representatives of a Puritan-
ism as yet unreduced in its austerity. Tliey must all have
l<nown that the priest carried with liim the "idolatrous"
furnishings for his devotions, and oliservcd the sanctities
of his profession. But no slight, no challenge was inflicted
on him. His visit was at midwinter, with its sinjw and
tempests on land and sea. He seems to have heen wholly
penniless, hut lacked for notliiug. His host, Giblions, was
not a man likely to practise a lean lios])itality in larder or
good liquors. Most hap])y was the luck by which the
priest, who had started on his home voyage, was compelled
hv stress of weather to delay so that he was favored by a
visit to Eiidicott, so charmingly described. Tliat priui old
Kiiro|iean soldier had preserved his French, and was doubt-
less pleased to give it an airing. Under other circum-
stances he would without shrinking have swuul' the priest
from tlie ladder witli a lialter about his neck. Jhit he had
in him warm human sympathies. There may have been
subdued mutterings amon'z the common people at this pro-
longed circulation of a Jesuit among the homes and olTicial
halls of the colon}', but no record remains of any disatTec-
tion or complaint. Nor does the priest intimate anytliing
of a religious discussion. He and I'diot would have found
enough in their general interests to engage them. If ho
had accepted Eliot's invitation to pass the winter with
him, avoiding his homeward journey, they might have
opened their polemics.

The following April the priest met John Winslow at
the Kennebec, on his arrival from Plymouth and Ho.ston,
who assured him that the magistrates and the two cnmmi.v
sioners of Plymouth had pledged themselves, on account of
the interest of that Colony in the Kennebec, to press the
other Colonies in the favor of the Abnaquis against the

374 THE PURITAN AGE.

Iroquois. Encouragement and liope came to the priest
from many sources, and he dilif,'ontly used all afipliunces
for his cause. But he was doomed to disappointment.
Finding that the matter would he disjtosed ol by the com-
missioners of the four Colonies then to meet at New Haven,
DruiUette was despatched again from Quebec, with one of
the Governor's Council in company. In Sepitember, ltJ51,
the emissaries were most courteously received, and pre-
sented their case forcibly and adroitly. But the commis-
sioners, while pliant in behalf of the interests of trade, had
no inclination to open hostilities with the Mohawks, who
were neither in subjection to, nor at war with, the English.
The ambassadors had this to carry back in a dignified Latin
letter to the French Governor. The reader may have no-
ticed in Druillette's Journal how freely he deals with Eng-
lish names of persons and places. His own name fares no
better in the records of the commissioners, — wliich appears
under the aliases of Mr. Derwellets, Mr. Dcrwelletes, Mr.
Drwellets, and Mr. Drovillety.

This Narration of DruiUette was found in a bureau con-
taining some of the effects of the Jesuits, in Quebec, and
was published at the charge of Mr. James Lenox, of New
York, in 1855.

XL
TPIE BAPTISTS UNDER PURITAN DISCIPLINE.

The difference of meaning and use between the two
words Baptists and Anabaptists gives us the occasion and
the matter of one of the largest sectarian divisions among
Protestants, consequent upon the rupture of unity in the
Church at the Reformation. It was in Germany, about a
century before the settlement of Massachusetts, tliat the
most formidable and dejilorable social convulsions, witii
wild excesses of fanaticism, made those then first known
as Anabaptists to be regarded as the most dreaded class of
opinionists. The representatives of the sect in England,
while Iiaving to bear the odium of its earlier representa-
tives in Germany, gave the earnestness uf their zeal rather
to fidelity to conscience than to offensivencss of ccmduct.
A very interesting episode in early Massachusetts liistory
is connected with tin.' first introduction of the controversy
here, as the stern discipline of authority was brought to
bear severely upon a mucii beloved and lionored man, the
first President of Harvard College. lie may well stand as
tiie central figure among the sud'erers by the theocratic
administration, in tke narration now to be traced. This
controversy, like the Antinomian, was within the limits of
Puritanism, its weapons being Scripture te.xts.

Ufi to the time of the Reformation we may assume as
substantially true the general statement, that every human
being in Christendom had been baptized in infancy, —
the rite being performed by pouring or sprinkling. The

376 TUE PURITAN AGE.

suprpnio importanro of the rite attached to it because of
thchrlicf ill its nlis'ihitc necessity and its sovereign efficacy.
Tlic teachinj: nf the Koiiian Chuicli alioiit it is, that " Baf>-
tism washes away original sin, in which we were all born
by reason of the sin of our first father, Adam ; it infuses
the habit of divine graci' into mir s(juls, and makes us the
adopted children of God ; it imprints a character or sjiirit-
ual mark in the soul ; it lets us intu the Church of Crod."^
The Church of England and tlie I'liritans eiiiially main-
tained the importance and necessity of the rite, and as-
sigrned to it these high uses. But the Roman Church
had one supreme ground for its belief and practice con-
cerning this rite, which relieved it, as we shall see, of a
difficulty met by Protestants, and es]iecially by the Puri-
tans, whose leading principle was tliat only the teaching
and authority of .Scripture gave sanction to faith. A can-
did and able divine of the English Church before quoted
allows himself to express the following piositive and un-
ipialified statement: '' iSiitwithstanding all that has been
written by learned men upon this subject, it remains in-
disputable that infant baptism is not mentioned in the
New Testament. No instance of it is recorded there, no
allusion is made to its effects, no directinns are given for
its administration."^ The Ilomaii Church gives as its first
reason for practising infant ba]itism, '• a tradition which
the Church has received from the A]iostles." Other reasons
arc added. P.iit when the authority of all traditions out-
side of the Scri[itures was repudiated, and a warrant for
all that was to lie accepted for faith and practice was re-
quired to be found there, the way wai opened for a most
burning controversy on the jiroper subjects and mode of
baptism. Its imjiortance and efficacy were in no way di
miiiished. If the liaptism of infants had no warrant from
Scripture, while baptism itself was an essential and saving

' The Cntholic Christi.in Instructod.

' Ecclcsiiistical I'olity of tlie New Tcstnniriit, l>y Dr. .Incol', p. C70.

THE BAPTISTS UNDER PURITAN DISCIPLINE. 377

ordinance, it followed tluit tlie rite must in mature years
be repeated for believers baptized in infancy who would
secure the blcssinp; from it. This repetition of the rite was
Anabaptism. The term has no signilicancc now as applied
to " Baptists," who n(jt having been baptized in infancy
are baptized for the first time, if ever, in maturer years,
when making a Christian profession.

The Puritan Standards and Confessions, both in England
and in her colonies here, recognized —

" Baptism Ls a Sacraraent of llic New Testament, ord^iincd
by Jesus Christ, not only for the solemn .\flmispinn of tlie Party
baptised into the Visible Churcli, hut :ilso to he unto liim a Sign
and Seal of the Covenant of Gr.ice. of iiis inirrafiin;; into Christ,
of Regeneration, of Remission of .Sins, and of his giving up unto
God, through Jesus Christ, to walk in Newness of Life. . . . Dip-
ping of the Person into the AVuter is not neressarv ; hut Bap-
tism is rightly administered hy pouring or sprinkling Water upon
the Person. . . . Not only those that do actually profess Faith in,
and Obedience unto Christ, hut also the Infants of one or both
believing Parents are to be baptised."

In the Roman Communion, all parents having themselves
been baptized in infancy were assumed to be members of
the Church, so tliat all their children, as a matter of course,
were entitled to the rite. The difTerent ]irinci[ilc and prac-
tice adopted here — as will be seen on a future pagi — oc-
casioned in New England much controversy and strife, and
was largely instrumental in bringing discomfiture on the
svstcm. In the Roman Church, baptism is essential to
and insures the salvation of the infant. The Westmin-
ster Confession made a discrimination here, as follows:

" Althoui^h it be a great Sin to contemn or neglect this Ordi-
nance, yet Grace and Salvation are not so inseparably anne.xed to
it, as that no person can be regenerated or saved without it, or
that all that are baptised are undoubtedly regenerated. . . . The
Sacrament was to be administered only once to any person."

378 THE I'UIUTAN AGE.

Tliu church or conprogatioii in wliich an infant had been
baptized, was held throuf^h its parents to have come under
the ohlij^atiun of an o\cr.sif!;ht and responsibility for the
child, and as havinj,' reason to expect that the child on
prowiiifi up would coni[ilete its church relations by accept-
iiiLT the covenant for full nicmbershij).

The lack of direct, i)ositivc, ijuotable texts in the New
Testament enjoining the baptism of infants was sujJiilied
mainly by ingenious inferences and deductions fiom the
Scriptures. It was argued that children should accede
to church privileges and responsibilities in their religious
heritage through their parents, as they acceded through
the same channel to civil rights and privileges. "The
seed of Abraham " ' became partakers of the covenanted
blessing through the rite of circumcision performed on
infant children. So the Puritans said, " We infer that bajt-
tism is designed to take the ])lace of circumcision." The
affectionate saying of Christ, "Suffer little children to
come unto me," etc., gave an encouragement to infant bap-
tism. It is rather through tlie tender and engaging appeal
in these last words, than fi'om the force of any positive
command or a belief in the necessity of the rite for sal-
vation, that Christian parents now offer their children in
baj)tism as a dedicatory and grateful service, and as recog-
nizing their own obligation and ])urpose for the Christian
nuiture of their children. Another inference was drawn
in support of the Puritan custom from the mention in the
Acts and Epistles of the baptism of a whole "household"
when the head of it was the subject of the rite. The
inference was that the household included children.

It was inevitable, however, that when, church authority
being refjudiated, each individual, with such ability, judg-
ment, and intelligence as he might possess, brought his own
acute and conscientious search to his own private inter-
jiretation of the Scriptures, he should be quickened or

' Genesis xvii. 7.

THE BAPTISTS UNDER PURITAN DISCIPLINE. 379

troubled, stirred to questioning or protesting, concerning
the significance of baptism, the subjects of tlie rite, and the
autiiority for its administration. A vast number of the in-
numerable polemical tractates of the age succeeding the
Reformation are filled either with calm, learned, and able
dealings with this subject, or with the wild utterances of
enthusiasts and fanatics upon it.

It is curious to note the acuteness used in arguments,
drawn by inferences, to justify the baptism of infants in
the lack of direct Scriptural injunctions. Tims, Jesus had
bid his Apostles go teach and baptize all nations. Now for
an inference : —

" If a man should bid his servant go shear all my sheep and
mark them, if that servant should shear all his sheep and mark
them only that he had shorn, and not mark his Lambs, because
he could not shear them, doth that servant fullill hi.s Master's
command ? No more had the Apostles done if they had not
marked his Lambs as well as his sheep: although they were not
capable of teaching, yet they were capable of marking or ba|)lis-
ing. Again, whereas our Lord commandeth, ' Suffer little chil-
dren to come unto me, and forbid tliem not,' How properly can
an infant come unto Christ but by Ba[iti.sm ? Repent they can-
not, believe they cannot, as the Anabaptists affirm. But by bap-
tism they may come, whore the minister in Christ stead receiveth
them and blesseth tiieni." '

But as if to revive the dreads connected with the avowal
of Anabaptist opinions as associated with the lawlessness,
immoralities, and extravagances of the old times in Hol-
land and Gc'rmany, the attention of the authorities of Mas-
sachusetts was drawn to the appearance and organization
of the faction in Rhode Island when that Colony was the
harborage of "all sorts of consciences." Their divcisities,
eccentricities, and individualities of opinion had a free field
and license. Winthrop writes during the summer of 1G41 :

' Pagitt'9 Ileresiography London, 1661. p. 19. The writer was of the
Church of England.

380 THE PURITAN AGE.

" Mrs Hutchinson and those of Ai|uiiluy islanfl brouchc-d new
licrrsies every year. Divers of tliem turin-d jirofessecl analiaptists,
and would not wear any arms, and denied all maj.nstraey among
Cliristians, and maintained that lliere wi.Te no churches since those
fciiiTided liv the ajiostlis anil evan;.'elists, nor could arjv he, nor ariv
pastors ordained nor seals administered hut liy such, and that the
church was to want these all the tiuie she continued in tlie wilder-
ness, as yet she was." '

Hero was cnouirh to rouse tlie anxious watchfulness of
the autliorities of Massachusetts, to test the tolerance here-
tofore allowed for variances of ojiinion. and to prepare the
way for liarsh dealing with their avowal.

The variances of opinion on the suliject of infant bap-
tism which presented themselves were tlie most natural,
and we may add the most reasonabli', of all the factious
dissensions which arose in the Massachusetts churclies.
Hajipily, the bitterness and severity of disci]iliiie which
attended them were of brief duration, while the smart fell
on but few victims. According to the Puritan view of the
8crijitnres, as furnishing the sole authority for all of re-
ligious belief and practice, and the means for ending all
ciinti'ovcrsies, the lack in them of ])ositive and direct in-
junctions for infant bajitism should ha\'e prepared them for
these variances of opinion, and secured for them a degree
of tolerance. To a certain extent this tolerance was al-
lowc'd ; but it was for little more than private opinions,
quietly and moderately expressed. Hut as the expectation
and rerpiisition of accord, harmony, and conformitv in
avowed beliefs ami in church observances became steadilv
miii'c rigid among magistrates and elders in the Colon v,
this tolerance was soon jiut to a strain. Cotton Mather
more than once tells us that among the first comers to
Massiiehusetts were many who held the special tenets of
the IJaptists, and that "they were as holy and watchful
and fruitful and heavenly a people as perhajis any in the

> Wiiithrop, ii. 38.

THE BAPTISTS UNDER PURITAN DISCIPLINE. 381

world." But Mather also, a.s if to balance his enco-
miimi, quotes the opinion of one whom he calls " tlie noble
maitvr Philpot," that the Anabajitists " arc an inordinate
kind of men, stirred uj) by the Devil, to the destruction
of the GosiK'l ; havinu; neither Scripture nor anti(|uity
nor anything else for them but lies and new imagina-
tions, feigning the baptism of children to be the Pope's
commandment." '

At the Quarterly Court at Salem, Pec. 14, 1G42, " The
Lady Deborah Moody, Mrs. King, and the wife of John
Tilton were presented for iiouldinge that the baptising of
infants is noc ordinance of God."^ Winthrop mentions
this case as follows : —

"The Ludv Moodye, a wise and anciently rL-Hgious wcmiau,
being taken with the error of denying baptism to infants, was
dealt NYJthal by many of tlic elders and otliers, and admonished
by tlie C'bureh of Salem (wliereof she was a member) ; but (lersisl-
iiig still, and to avoid further trouble, etc., she removed to the
Dutch, against the advice of all her friends. Many others iu-
fected witii anabaptism removed thitlar also. She was after
excommunicated." '

Lady Moody owned land at Swampscott. A neighbor of
hers there, William Witter, next conies up for disci[iline
at Salem Court, Feb. 28, HilJ,—

"for entertaining that the baptism of infants was sinful, now
comin" in Salem Court, answered hunilily and confessed his Igno-
rance, and his willin;jness to see Light, and (upon 'M.v. Morris,
our Elder, his speech) seemed to be stagi^crcd, Liasmurh that in
court meltinglie Sentence, [iiV] Have called our orJenance of
Cod a badge of the whore, on some Lecture day, the ne.\t oth day
being a pui)Uc fast. To acknowleclge his fait, and to ask Mr.
Cobbett forgiveness, in saying he sfioke against his conscience,
And enjoined to be heare next Court at Salem." *

' Magnalia, AmiT. eiiit., ii. 532. * Lewis ariJ Xcwhall, Lynn, p. 204.

^ Winthrop, ii. 124. * Lewis and Newhall, Lynn, [». 219.

382 THE PURITAN AGE.

But the repentance and tlie sentence in his case were
botli ineffective ; for, as appears from the followinji jiro-
ceeding in the (Jcneral Court, May G, 1G4(3, Witter liad in
the interval a^-ain been before the Salem Court: — •

"Au tlic Courtf at Siilom, held the IMth of the 12th month,
1G4.'), Willi;iiu Witter, of Lynn, was prebeiited by tlie grand jury
for sa\ inj; tliat they who stayed whih'S a child is baptised doe
worshi|ip tlie divell. Henry Collins and Nath. West dealing with
him thereabouts, he further sayd that they who stayed at the
baptising of a ehild did take the name of the Father. Sonne, and
Holy Gost in vavne, broake the .Sabaoth, and confessed and justi-
fyed the former speech. The sentence of the Court was an in-
junction the next Lord's day, being faier, that he make public
confession to satisfaction in the open congregation, at Lynne, or
else to answer it at the next Generall Courte ; and concerning his
opinion, the Courte exprcst their patience towards hira, only ad-
monishing iiim till they see if he continew obstinate. The said
Witter not appearing here according to order, itt is ordered that
the major generall take order for his appearance at the next Court
of Assistants, at lioston, tiiere to answer, and to be proceeded
with according to the meritt of bis offence.'' '

There seems to have been nn attempt at leniency in
dealing witli this offender, though he had made himself so
obnoxious, not for holding, but for his rude way of declar-
ing, an opinion.

The magistrates were persuading themselves that it was
becoming neeessarv for them to have a law upon their
statute-book enabling them, in keeping with their conserv-
ative and repressive policy, to deal with the extending and
aggressive heresv (if (ipjiosilion to infant baptism. Indore
thev did so, however, we learn from Winthrop of the ease
of another individual offender, as follows, July 5, 1G44 : —

"A poor man of Hini^h.im, one Painter, who had lived at New
Haven, and at Rowley and Charlestown, and had been scandalous

' Kcc(]nls, iii. C.7, r,8.

THE BAPTISTS UNDER PURITAN DISCIPLINE. 383

and burdensome by his idle and troublesome behaviour to them
all, was now on the sudden turned anabaptist, and havinp; a child
born, he would not suffer his wife to bring it to the ordinance of
baptism, for slie was a member of the church, though himself were
not. Being presented for this, and enjoined to suffer the child to
be baptised, lie still refusing, and disturbing the church, he was
again brought to the Court, not onl)- for his former contempt, but
also for saying that our baptism was antichristian ; and in the
open court he alfirmed the same. Whereupon, after much patience
and clear conviction of his errour, etc., — because he was very
poor, so as no other but corporal punishment could be fastened
upon him. — he was ordered to be whipped, not for his opinion,
but for his reproaching the Lord's ordinance, and for his bold and
evil behaviour both at home and in the Court. He endured his
punishment with much obstinacy, and when he was loosed he said,
boastingly, that God had marvellously assisted him. Whereupon,
two or three honest men, his neighbours, affirmed before all the
company that he was of very loose behaviour at home, and given
much to lying and idleness, etc. Nor had he any great occasion
to gather God's assistance from his stillness under the |)unisliment,
which was but moderate, for divers notorious" malefactors had
showed the like, and one the same court." '

We may imagine tliat we licar (he eul[irit, released from
liis scourging, boastfully cry out, in more reverent phrase,
the same sentiment which a jilueky boy after a whipping
expresses in the defiance, — " I'ocjIi ! you have not hurt me
mucli I "' We note tliat Winthro[) says, guanledly, that
Painter was not scourged for "his opinion," but for dis-
turbing the church proceedings, and for general misde-
meanor. We shall find an attempt made at drawing the
same distinction in the law now to be copied. Tlii.s was
drafted by the magistrates, and then submitted to the eld-
ers, "who approved of it with some mitigations, and being
voted and sent to the deputies, it was after publishi'd." -

The allowance and tolerance of wliat were viewed as
erroneous opinions on infant baptism, which has been

' Winthrop, ii. K.'i. ^ Ibid., ii. 174.

384 THK PURITAN ACK.

before referred to, as frranted t(j iiidividualK, on implied
conditions of moderation or silence, were f(jund to be in-
sntlirienl b)r protection against tbe working and insidious
spread of tbe beresy. Tlie Court therefore, in its watch-
fuhiess and [iresunied resjionsilMlity for protectiii"' its con-
stituency, passed tln' f(jlio\vin;.'' law, No\'. 13, lt)44 : —

" Forasmuch as experience liatb pleutifully and often proved
lliut since tlie first arisin;; of the Anabaptists, ulKjut a hundred
years since, tliey have been the incendiaries of commonwealths,
and the infectors of persons in main matters of relifjion, and the
troulilers of churches in all places where they liave bene, and that,
they who have held the baptisinjj of infants unlawfull have usually
held other errors or heresies together therewilh, thouj.di they have
(as other liereticks use to do) concealed the same till they spied
out a tit advantage and o|iportunity lo vent them, by way of ques-
tion or scruple, and whereas divers of this kind have, since our
coming into New England, appeared amongst ourselves, some
whcriiil have (as otliers before them) denied tiie ordinance of
magistrary, and the lawfubiess of making warr, and others the
hiu'fubiess of magistrates, and their insjjeetion into any breach of
the lir>t tabh-, which opinions, if thev should be connived at by
us, arc bke to be increased amongst us. and so must necessarily
bring guilt npon us, infection and trouble to the churches, and
hazanl to tlie uhele commiuiwealth,

" It is ordered atjd agreed, that if any person or persons within
this jurisdiction shall eitlier opeidv condemne or oppose the bap-
tisirjg of infants, or go about secnllv to seduce others from the
approbation or use thereof, or shall purposelv depart the congre-
gation at the administration of the ordinance, or sliall denv the
ordinance of niagistracv, oi' tlieir lawful rii;ht or authorilv to make
warr, or tu [lUnisli the outuanl breaches of llie first table, anil shall
appear to the Cunrl wilfully and obstinately to continue therein
after due lime and nicanes of conviclioM. every such ]icrson or
persons slialbe scnienceil In baiiishuieni ." '

Several matters for p.'issing remark are suggested by tlic
terms of this law. We have alieady noted witli what an

' Hucurds, ii, R.'i.

THE BAPTISTS UNDER PURITAN DISCIPLINE. 385

obstiuate and apparently perverse resolution a single re-
ligious opinion or belief, seemingly held in sincerity, and
peacefully, was associated with, and made accountable for,
any extravagances and dangerous practices, threatening
the fabric or good order of society, or running into disso-
luteness and immorality, which liad accompanied the first
adoption or utterance of the heresy. The abominations of
impiety, and the outrages of decency, and the rcclcless
practices which had accompanied the wild enthusiasm and
lanaticisin of those first known as Antinomians and Ana-
baptists, had attached to them for a century ; and any one
who avowed the central matter of the heresy was suspected
of at least secretly tending to all the follies and vices that
ever accompanied it. So the terms of the law we have
copied intimate that those who object to infant baptism
have silently in reserve many other and more dangerous
errors, which they arc watching an oji[ioitunity to insinu-
ate when they can sjiy out a fit advantage. We liave seen
how " inferences " supposed to be fairly drawn fi'om opin-
ions avowed by Mrs. Ilutchinsun, and her " I'evelations,"
were all the entailed burden from previous offenders. An-
other point is suggestive here. When Winslow was acting
as agent and defender of the Culony in hlngiand from im-
putations urged against it for its severity in this and other
of its laws, he pleaded that many among tbem known to
hold heretical or objectionalile opinions were unmolested if
they kept them quietly and uniiggressivcly to themselves,
without raising dispute or dissensions. J5ut such individu-
alities of opinion and scruples of conscience were not to be
restrained from a free and earnest utterance by the tongues
of men and women of the temper trained \t\ Puritanism.
On many subjects that exercised them, tiii^y could relieve
their own uneasiness only by communicating it to others
around them. The unintermitted restating and rehearing
of the matters of creed and covenant could be kept from
becoming intolerable only by more than occasional ven-

386 THE PURITAN AGE.

tures of questioning and doubting. Of course,- the Court
could not presume to foibid the holding of certain opin-
ions, nor perha[is would it ccnsuie their utterance in pri-
vate intercourse ; but if there was the scent of mischief in
them, they were not to be ventilated among neighbors, but
referred to tin' elders, or cautiously handled in the meet-
ings of church memljcrs for discipline. Even the silent
protest of leaving the assembly when an infant was pre-
sented for baptism was now forbidden.

A year after the passage of this law we have an intima-
tion of the discontent it had excited, in the following action
of the Court, Oct. 18, 1645 : —

" Upon a petition of divers persons, for consideration of llie law
about new-comers not staying above three weeks without licence,
and the law against Anabaptists, the Court hatli voted that the
laws mentioned should not be altered at all, nor explained." '

But tjiere were others who favored tlie law, as appears
from the action of the Court, Slay 6, lG-t6, as follows ; —

"The petition of divers of Dorchester, Rosberry, etc., to the
number of "M. for the continuance of such orders, without abroga-
tion or weakening, as are in force against Anabaptists, and other
erronios persons, where by to liinder the spreading or divulging of
their errors, is granted." ^

One of the deputies of the Court from Dover, Edward
Starbuek, had been fined for three weeks' absence. The
Court in October, 1648 —

" being informed of great misdemeanor coniuiitted by Edward SUir-
buck, of Dover, with profession of Anabaptislry, for which ho
is to be proceeded aj^aiiisl at the ne.\t Courte of Assistants if evi-
dence can be prcpare<l liv that time," '

on account of the season and the distance, appointed two
commissioners to send for witnesses and sworn testimony.
Wc hear no more of tliis case.

' Rcrarih, ii. 141. » Ibi.l., ii. 149. « Ibid., ii. 203.

THE BAPTISTS UNDER PURITAN DISCIPLINE. 387

Recognizing the rigidity of disciplino which the Court
had adapted as its rule in matters concerning other persons'
consciences, thougli in our judgments so mistalcen and op-
pressive, we cannot but recognize also its [)crsistency as
shown in meddling with matters that alarmed them beyond
their jurisdiction, which threatened mischief for Massachu-
setts. Thi.s is strikingly exhibited in the following letter
addressed by the Court in October, 1G49, to the Plymouth
authorities. The letter will explain itself : —

"Honored and beloved Bretiieken, — TVee have heard
heeretofore of diverse Annabaptists, arisen up in your jurisdiction,
and connived at ; but being but few, wee well hoped that it might
have pleased God, by the endeavors of yourselves and the faithful
elders with you. to have reduced such erring men again into the
right wav. But now, to our great greife, wee are crcililily in-
formed that vour patient liearin;; with such men hath produced
anotlier effect, namely, the multiplvin;; ami increasing of the same
errors, and wee feare may he of other errors also, if timely care be
not t.iken to suppresse the same. I'erticuiarly wee umliTstand (hat
witldn this few weekes there have been at Sea Cunki' thirtiinc or
fowerteene persons rebaptized (a swift progress in one tonne), yett
wee heare not of any effectual restriction is entended thereabouts.
Lett it not, wee pray vou, seeme presumption in us to mind you
heereof, nor that wee earnestly intreate you to tike care as well
of the suppressing of errors as of the maintenance of truth, Ood
aequally requiring the performance of both at the hands of Chris-
tian magistrates, but rather that you will considi-r our interest is
concerned therein. The infection of such diseases bein;; so neere
are likelv to spread into our jurisdiction ; tunc tua res agilur paries
cum proximus ardet. Wee are united bv confoedaracv, bv faith,
bv neighbourhood, by fellowship in our sufferings as exiles, and by
other Christian bonds, and wee hope neither Sathan nor any of his
instruments shall by theis or any other errors disunite us, and that
wee shall never have cause to repent us of our so neere conjunc-
tion with you, hut that wee shall both so aequally and zealously
uphold all the truths of God revealed, that wee may render a com-
fortable accompt to Him that hatb sett us in our places, and

388 THE PURITAN AGE.

IxjtruRted us with tlie kf oping of both tables, of whicli well hoping,
WfC rcaso your further trouble, and rest, Your very loving Kreinds
;ind Brcthereii." '

11 there is liipotry, there is somcthinfr other and better
tliau bifrotry in that earnest and tender appeal to fellow-
exiles and fellow-l)elievers in behalf of beliefs and principles
sujiremely |)recious to tbein. The dread of new dissensions
and divisions \vas for a lonfj period the motive for stiffcninij,
instead of promjiting a relaxation of, the attempt to secure
accord of opinion from " tender consciences." Massachu-
setts was ajTfrrieved at the very slight response made by
Plymouth to the remonstrance and ajipeal. But an o|ipor-
t unity was now to present itself in which tlie authorities
would visit their discipline upon the j)rime agent in the
grievance which had drawn forth the above letter. This
was one Obadiah Holmes. He had joined the Salem church
on his coming hither, and being dismissed after seven years
of membership, in 1045, had become a member of the Con-
gretrational C'liurch at Seekonk, or Reliolioth, the pastor of
which, an exiled Church clergyman, Samuel Newman, edited
an edition of Clement Cotton's Concordance of the Bible.
Some dissension arising in the church, Holmes with somr
others seceded, and sot nji a Baptist Society, probably hav-
ing procured bn!)tism from I'r. John Clarke, pastor of thr
I5a[)tist Church in Newport. In response to the letter from
Massachtisctts, Holmes was summoned by Plymouth Court
on June 4, 10,50, and presented Oct. 2, liloO; but he does
not a[)j)ear to have been sentenced Dr. Clarke, a man
of great abilities and of a calm spirit and line character,
after having practised as a physician in London, had come
to P.oslon just at the height of the strife with Mrs. Hutch-
inson, and marvelling that the excited jiarties could not
harmonize their variances, had niov(>d to Rhode Island,
wlicre at New[iort he founded a Baptist Church, in 1644.

' Rpconls, iii, 174.

THE BAPTISTS UNDER PURITAN DISCIPLINE. 389

He was also highly esteemed as a physician, and as Treas-
urer and Assistant of the Colony. Of a visit made by him
to Massachusetts, and the treatment he received there, we
have an account from his own {)cn, temperately but forcibly
related in a pamphlet entitled " 111 Newes from New Eng-
land, etc.," published in London in 1652.^ Backus, the
excellent historian of the Baptists, says that Clarke the
pastor, with two members of the church. Holmes and John
Crandall, were sent here by it on an errand of religious
sympathy to William Witter, already under our notice, and
that he was a member of their church. Clarke does not
mention this latter particular, nor docs it a[ipear how it
could have been so. Witter was infirm and nearly if not
(liiitc blind. His membership may have been tiirougli
sympathy, correspondence, and recognition.

We will nnw follow Dr. Clarke's narrative, [iremising
that he and his companions were alike obnoxious to Mas-
sachusetts. Clarke symfiathized fully in the conviction of
Roger Williams that the magistrate iiad no functinn in
matters of religious ofiinion, belief, or observance. He
said, " A sword of steel cannot come near or touch the
spirit or mind of man;" and from the CDmmon armorv
of Scri[)ture for both sides in all controversies, quoted
the words of Jesus that the tares were not to he plucked
out, but left patiently to grow with the grain. Clarke
justifies the publishing his narrative on the ground that
an opportunity for open debate and argument having been
offered, was afterward denied to him. He had a strong
ground for rebuking the authorities of Massachusetts for
their compelling non-church-members and the unwilling
to attend upon their set services, and forbidding them to
meet in other congenial jirivate assemblies. He objects
also that their churches were not " called together at the
command of the Lord," as at first, but by authority or allow-
ance of the magistrates He says he arrived in Boston, on

' This is reprinted in Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., 4th series, vol. ii.

390 THE I'UUITAN AGE.

his first coming, in Xuvcniijcr, ]G37, and being pained at
the controversy about tin^ two (."ovenuiits of Works and
(Jrace, moved away for (|uiet and edification. On liis visit
witli liis companions (jn tlieir eiranJ of symjiatiiy, July
19, 1G51, •' we ii)i]g((J at a Blind man's iiouse, by name
William Witter." The next day was tiie first day of the
week, when, "not having fifedoni in our Spirits for want
of a clear Call from <iod to goe unto the I'Libliek Assera-
hlie," two miles distant, at Lynn, to declare their minds
there, they held a service at the liouse where they lodged.
Clarke says that four or five strangers came in unexpect-
edly midway in the services, and remained. This presence
of outsiders, as we shall see, aggravated the charges against
Clarke. The fact of the j)resence of the jjarty must have
Ijeen iKjised abroad ; for while Clarke was [ireaching, two
constaljles cami' in and served a magistrate's warrant for
their arrest and jiresentment the next day. The constables
being politely invited to listen till the exercises were closed,
declined, and took the three to the ordinary, or ale-house.
After dinner the officers proposed to take them to the place
of worship, though Clarke warned them that if forced there
they sliould in the meeting " declare dissent both by word
and gesture." On entering the meeting, the congregation
were uncovered and at firayer. Clarke says, " At my first
stepping over the threshold, I unveiled myself, civilly saluted
them, turned into the scat I was appointed to. put cm my
hat again, and so sat down, opened my Hook, and fell to
reading." Tiie constable being ordered by the magistrate
to remove Clarke's hat, did so. After the services ended,
Clarke stood up, (M\illy asking if as a stranger he might
pro[iose a frw things to the congregation, and waited a
courteous rejily. The pastor asked him if he was a mem-
ber of a church, etc. Before he could answer, Mr. Bridges,
the magistrate, said that if the congregation permitted he
should be allowed, but not to make objections to what
had been delivered. Clarke replied that he did not in-

THE BAPTISTS UNDER PURITAN DISCIPLINE. 391

tend to make such objections, but simply to explain his
gesture, showing lack of sympathy in coming into the
Assembly, " as they were strangers to each other's inward
standing with respect to God, and so cannot conjoyn
act in Faith. And in the second place, I could not
judge that you are gathered together, and walk according
to the visible order of our Lord." Mr. Bridges stopped
him there, saying that he had spoken that for which he
must answer. The visitors were carried to the ordinary,
" watched over that uiLrht as Theeves and Robbers," and
ne.xt morning Mr. Bridges sent them by complaint to Boston
prison. It would ap|)ear, from ihc charges in their sentence
afterward, as if they had held a meeting again at Witter's
on Monday morning. The mittimus charged them with
holding a private meeting on the Lord's Day, exercising
among themselves, joined by some of the town's people, dis-
turliing and cimtemning the public meeting, and " for sus-
pition of having their hands in the re-baptising of one or
more among us." On being brought to trial at the County
Court, July 31, Clarke denied the name of Analiaptist, with
which he was charged ; for thdugh admitting that he had
baptized many, he would not admit that it was a rebaptism,
because the former rite for them was null. The offences
for which he was sentenced were, for preaching in a [)rivate
house on the Lord's Day where some of the inhabitants of
the town were gathered ; for keeping on his hat during
prayer in tiie public assembly, and disturbing and profess-
ing against the church ; and the next day, in contempt of
authority, and while in custody of the law, did again meet
at Witter's house, and there " administer the Sacrament of
the Supper to one excommunicate person, to another under
admonition, and to another that was an inhabitant of Lynn,
and not in fellowship with any church." Other offences
in Court were, his adroit denial of having rebaptized some
who as infants had shared the rite, and his rejecting infant
baptism, and the ordinances and ministers, as nullities.

392 THE F'URITAN AGE.

He was sentenced to pa}' a fine of twenty pounds, or give
securities for it till the first day of tlie next Court, remain-
ing in prison till then, " or else to be well whipt." Holmes
was sentenced to a line of thirty jjounds, ami Cramlall of
five, with the same alternative of l)einL' " well wiiifit."
Clarke then asked if he might speak to thc^ Court, alleging
a jirumise made to him by Mr. Bridges that he should
liave that liberty. This being allowed, Clarke asked, as a
stranger, to see the law V)y wliieli he had been adjudged,
quoting their own law warranting his demand. The Gov-
ernor, Endicott, here

" being somewhat transported, broke forth, and told me I had
deserved death, and said he would not have .such trasli brought
into their jurisdiction ; moreover, lie said, you go up and down,
and secretly insinuate into those tliat are weak ; but you cannot
maintain it before our Ministers ; you m.ay try and discourse or
dispute with them," etc.

Though he was at once hurried off by the jailer, Clarke
rightfully improved this tainit and challenge, by writing
from his prison the ne,\t day to the Court, proposing to
dispute with the ministers, and asking that a time be fi.xed
for it. There was some playing fast and loose by the
Court in the matter, the dispute being promised at a set
time, and then by pretexts deferred. Clarke was told that
he was not sentenced " for judgement or conscience, but
for matter of fact and practice." Hut Clarke prepared
his statement and projtositions, and got them l>efore one of
the magistrates. Had he been permitted a fair held, those
who coped with him would have needed to be keen and
able. Hut the keeper of the jirison ri'ccivcd on the 11th
of August an order for his release. His fine had l)ecn paid
for him by some friends without his appn>\al. The sincere
man was sorely troubled that the [troposrd disputation, for
which he says the ex])ectation of the country was greatly
raised, was frustrated. Ho he wrote at once before leaving

THE BAPTISTS UNDER PURITAN DISCIPLINE. 393

the prison a manifesto, expressing his regret that his fine
had been paid, and his readiness still to hold the disputa-
tion. The next day being Commencement at Cambridge,
it was rumored that Cotton had been selected to dispute
with him. Tliis highly pleased Clarke, because he regarded
Cotton " as being tlic inventor and sup|iorter of that way,
in these, parts, wherein they walk." Rut the Governor,
deputy, and three of the magistrates here interposed.
They, by a letter to Clarke, charged him witii misreport^
ing the fact, lie had not been promised, and could not
have, a public (]is[)utation. It was to be jirivute, and would
still be allowed on matters propounded liy Clarke, with a
single elder, and before a nicjdcrator, Clarke to lie harm-
less from ci\il ju-ocess. He answered the letter from the
jirison, August 14, insisting that he hud represented trulv
the promise made {n Jiiin in the Court tor a public dispute,
for which he was still ready, but declined a private deljate.
The magistrates were doubtless wise on their ciwu side in
avoiding the risks from " the infection " nf tlie pmscribed
opinions which would inevitably have attended any puljlic
discussion. It was well known to them that ^■ery many of
the community alike in the larger towns and in every rural
settlement were as intiamniable as tow when listening to
utterances involving novelties of opinion. The points con-
tested in the controversy aijout the proper subjects and
method of baptism as the initiative rite of Cliiistian dis-
cipleship, were more intelligible to the jieople in general
than were the al)struse and perplexing abstractions of tiie
Antin'omian controversy. Matters of variance weie to be
suppressed, if possible, by strict measures ratiier than by
fair and free debate. Some years afterward, on April l.'i,
1668, a public disputation was held by ministers in Huston,
represented by Whiting and Cobbett, with the defenders of
Baptist principles.

Dr. Clarke, burdened liy the sense of the inhospitality
and indignity of his treatment, and still more by his hav-

394 THE PUKITAN AGE.

ing been denied the uiueh coveted ojtportunity of defending
his opinions, was called i)y his many responsibilities to
family, friends, and public (jfiiees, to return to Newport.
Jlolnies, the most obnoxious of all the intruders, suffered
the sentence of wliip|iin;_';. 'flic thirty strijjcs laid upon his
bai'ed body at the post, lie says were severely inflicted by
the officers, but throufrh the fervor and constancy gra-
ciously granted to him, " fie told tlie Magisti'ates, you have
struck nie as witli Roses." Two of the spectators, who,
after tlie punishment, went up to him to take his hand
and express sympathy, were fined for so doing. The friend
for whom these sufferers were brought under the ordeal,
William Witter, was presented at Salem Court, Nov. 27,
1651, " for neglecting discourses, and being rcbaptized." '

One who, in reliearsing the early history of Massacliu-
setts, lias set to liimself the purpose of repressing the
utterances of regret, rejiroacli, or indignation, for the se-
verities of the Puritan rule, referring them all to a loy-
alty to theii- austere pi'ineiples, will often find that purpose
put to a sharp trial. Most of tiie sufferers by these aus-
terities, besides offering degrees of provocation, iiad a vigor
of self-assertion and solaces of their own to support them.
Their si)irits were not broken, n(ir could they comjilain
tliat, having rendered some form of valuable service to the
commnnity, they had received only wrong and ingratitude
in return. The treatment visited ujKin Henry flunstcr,
the first President of Harvard College, for his avowed re-
jection of infant baptism, stands in many respects as a
sfiecial anrl jicculiar illustratidii of the sternness of the
Puritan rule. Hut while (lur .sympathies can hardly fail
to be warmly engaged on his side in his painful ex])eriencc,
we must hesitate wiiether to visit (nir indignation on those
who so harsblv dealt with him, or to recogni/e their sturdy
consistency with their own resohe to enforce iin]iartially
their own intolerant principles. In the case now to be

* Ix'wi.s and Nu'whiill, Lynn, p. 231.

THE BAPTISTS UNDER PURITAN DISCIPLINE. 395

rehearsed we are to bear in miud that Ditiister was in full
sympathy with the Puritan system, and its most trusted
teacher, except on a single point ui' doctrine.

Dunster presents himself to us as one of the most en-
gaging, lovable, and eminently serviceable men in our
earliest annals. We l>avc learned to reiterate, with all
grateful regard and a])i)reciation, our high tributes of re-
spect to tlic founders of our State for their noble jiurposes
in providing for a seat of learning in the lirst years of
their wilderness life. The glory of our rich and revered
University, the fountain of so much of blessing and honor
to us, the favored deposit of our generosity and munifi-
cence, reflects back upon those wlio, witii a single view to
the welfare of their posterity, laid its foundations in tlic
days of their c.xtremcst struggles and poverty. ]5ut to
one man, its first President, we must assign the sujireine
tribute of our homage, for his eminent ability, his earnest
devotion, and his wise administration, continued through
fourteen years, in the organization of tlie College, in devis-
ing all practical plans for its studies and disci|>liii(', and in
]iri>viding the method of its government and oversight, which
iu its best clcmi'uts continues unchanged to this day.

The iiirtliplace and the age of Dunster have not been
positively certified to us. He received his two academic
degrees at Magdalene College, O.xford, 1030-34. With the
repute of eminent scliolarship and an attractive ciiaracter,
lie was warmly welcomed, on his arrival in Boston in 1G40,
by many of his former personal acipiaintances and friends
here. Ilis coming, with the abilities and virtues which he
brought with hiin, was most op]ioi'tune for the ('olony. The
infant college, then but a school starting with a promise
for its future, had been for two years committed to the
charge of a most unworthy person as its head, and he had
been summarily dis[)laced in disgrace. Dunster was in-
ducted as President, Aug. 27, 1640. He became a member
of the church in Cambridge under the pastorship of Shepard,

396 THE PURITAN AGE.

who dk:d Auf;. 25, lfJ4ti. In the relation of Dunstcr's re-
liii;ious experience on his aduiisBion to tlie church, we find
an iiitinuition of liis \ii'\vs on u sul)jcet uhicli had evidently
been cxeicisinji; his mind, and about which a subsequent
chanfre of o|iinion was to cause him inucii hard experience
He said, " There is somethiii}: coiiccrninfr sprinklin;! in
ycrii)ture, hence not offended when it is used." I)unster
supplied the desk with great acceptance after the death
of yiiepard till the induction of Mitchell, Aug. 21, 1C50.
Mitchell had been brought here as a youth, and had grad-
uated under Punster's presidency in 1G47. The pupil was
soon, as pastor, put into embarrassing relations with his
lionc.ired teacher. Dunster, in his preaching, had often de-
clared his disapjjroval of infant baptism. t)n the Ijirth of
one of his (jwn children in Itioi!, he foriiore to present it
tor the I'ite, alter the usual custom, in the meeting-house.
Theiewas much excited feeling in the church, and Kunster
was earnestly ad\ised to keep his opinions to himself. The
young j)astor pleaded for moderation and delay, but was
urged on by others to the usual method of discijiline. It
was an embarrassing ofiice for him, as in giavity. learning,
and earnest but calm moderation in argument, the Presi-
dent was more than his match. Mitchell tried his utmost
in a dilTieult W(jrk. He found scru)iles and misgivings aris-
ing in his own mind, as conse(iucut upon the strong reason-
ing of Punster, though he himself referred them to the
firompduL's of the E\il One. Burdened night and day by
the difliculty of the ofiice he had undertaken, he was afraid
of repeating his visits to Punster, as he " found a venom
and [iois(jn in his insinuations and discourses against Pirdo-
baptism." Finding many of his own congregation halting
and fallering on the suliject, he preached many sermons
ilefendiu'j' iiilant baptism.

Karly in IGo-l the magistrate's wrote to the ministers
about the risk to the country and the college in this dis-
sension, asking them to consider the matter and advise

THE BAPTISTS UNDER PURITAN DISCIPLINE. 397

them what to do in the case. Accordingly, in Fehruary,
nine of tlie ministers, two ruling elders, and Dunstcr met in
a conference at Boston.^ Diinster maintainrd the projiusi-
tion, — " visihle believers only should be baptised." Norton
granted the proposition, but added the strange corollary,
that " Infants of believing parents in church state are visi-
ble believers." This Dunstcr denied ; but with singular
sweetness of pleading he said that infants were in no dan-
ger, as Christ gave them "a nearer access unto him and a
nearer acceptance with him than children under tlie law."
The aptness of this remark was in its meeting the notion
of some of the elders, that infant baptism corresponded to
circumcision under the law. Itunstei- tiien advanced tiiis
strong assertion, " All instituted C;os[)el worship iiatii some
express word of Scripture. But Paedobaptism hath none."
The General Court had already passed an order in August,
1653, " tliat every person that shall publish and maintain
any hocthrodci.xe and erroneous doctrine shalbe Liable to
be quaestioncd and censured by the County Court where he
liveth, according to tlie merrit of his offence." ^ And now,
the ministerial conference having failed of its object, the
Court, in May, ICfii, jiasscd the following: —

" For.ismueh as it greatly concerns the welfare of this country that
tlic youth thereof l)c educatcil, not only in good literature hut sound
doctrine, this Court doth therefore commend it to the serious con-
sideration and speeiiiU eare of tlie otlieers of the colledge and the
selectmen in tlic severall tonnes, not to admilt or suffer any su<h to
be contynued in the office or place of teaching, educating, or instruct-
ing of youth or child in the colledge or schooles, that have manifested
themselves unsound in the fayth or scandelous in theire lives, and
not civeini: due satisfaction accordinir to the ndes of Clirist."'

Dunstcr took the broad hint thus cast toward him, and
sent in his resignation as President, to the Court, through

' Thf manuscript containing the minutes of the conference is in the cabi-
net of the Massachusetts Historical Society.

2 Records, vol. iv. pt. i. p. 151. » Ihi.l., iii 313, 341.

398 TIIK PURITAN AGK.

(lie Osorsrcrs, ijatcd Juno 10, 1054. On the 25th of tfio
iiiontli (he (./'ourt tdok tlic followiiifr nodce of tlie matter:

" 111 unswcr (o a writinge presciitiil bi this Court liy Mr. Henry
DuiisttT, wlicri-iii, aiiioiigBt other things thcriii eonlavued, he is
pleased to make a resignation of his jilace as president, this Court
doth order tliat it shallie h-ft to the can- and discretion of the
overseers of the Colledge to make provision, in case lie persist in
liis resolution more than one moneth (and informe the overseers)
for some meete person to carry on and endc that work for the
present, and also to act in whatever necessitie shall call for. untill
the next session of this Court, when we shalbe lietter enabled to
settle what shalbe needful in all res[iects in refTerence to the Col-
ledge ; and that the said overseers wilbe pleased to make retume
to this Court at that time of what they shall doe herein." '

Whatever Dunster may have said in his letter of the
reason for his resignation, no reference is made liy the
Court to the cause of it. Tlu' Overseers pave I'mister to
understand that liis service was so vahiable and so liighly
aj)prcciated that if he would keefi silence he might remain.
But he had his own conscience, which would not allow
him to be guided hy theirs. Mure than this. In order to
show that he still held his convictions, on the occasion
of an infant being offered for baptism in the meeting-
house, July 30, 1054, he rose and bore testimony of di.s-
ayiproval. Of course the Court availed itself of its own
order, assigning the dealing with such offences to the
countv courts. And so, eight months after the offence
had been committed, and ten months after Punster had
resigned his ofTiee, we read the following record of the
County Court, Cambridge : —

"April .3, 10,'),'), Mr. Ilenrv Dunster being presented to this
Court hy the Grand .Turv for disturbaiire of the ordinances of
Christ upon the Lord's dav, at Cambridge. .Tuly .TO, Ifi.Vl, to the
dishonor of the name of Christ, his truth and minister" —

' Records, iii. 352.

THE BAPTISTS UNDER PURITAN DISCIPLINE. 399

witnesses testified to tlie interruption wliieh lie contin-
ued when asked by the elder to forbear ; aftirming that
only visible jienitcnt believers are the sulijeets of bap-
tism ; that they were going to do something not conformed
to the institution or mind of Christ ; that the covenant of
Abraham is not ground for baptism ; and that corruptions
were coming in. The last point probably had reference to
the embarrassment already realized in the Colonics gener-
ally, coming from the growing up of so many unbaptized
persons, consecpient upon the limitation of the rite to the
children of parents being church members. This embar-
rassment was soon to lead to the adoption of " the Half-
way Covenant."

The Court then ordered that iiy the ecclesiastical law of
1646, punishing the offence of contempt, Punster should be
publicly admonished by a magistrate at the ne.\t lecture-
day at Cambridge, and give bonds for his afipearance.
Dunster answered the ne.xt day, denying that he had done
anything in '•contempt." lie was firm liut gentle in bis
res[)onse, saying that he had spol<en in the fear of (lod,
that he stood to what he had said, and wished a kind con-
struction jiut upon his course. The aiimouition was in due
course administered on him in the meeting-house at Cam-
bridge by the magistrate. It furnishes a scene for the
Alumni of Harvard who have cared to know the history of
the college whicli is their pride, and to trace its noble ser-
vice in the enlargenn'nt and liberalizing of thought and the
advancement of truth. Here was this scholar and notable
trainer of scholars, probably the most learned man in the
Colony, as learning was then measured and valued, in the
glory of his ripe manhood and personal beaut}-, his auburn
locks not yet silvered, greatly beloved by all who knew him,
standing to be censured for a heresy. True, he had vio-
lated a law of the Colony, and by freeing his own conscience
in protesting offensively against a rite which he believed to
be meaningless and erroneous, he had wounded the con-

400 THE I'uruTAN age.

scii'iiccs of others, liis friciiils, wlm {.n-ievcd at his course.
Hilt if the freedom of a triir soul eouhJ not be allowed to
him,\vlio could enjoy the right which all jtrofessed to value?
It was in tlie ineetin;^-housc, where Dunster's prayers and
his teacliinfjs on all (jther subjects had been received with
responsive assent and pratitude. Poiibtlcss among the
spectators of that scene were some of Dunster's young
sclK)lars. Would their immature judpinents draw fi'om it
an intiucnce loading them in ri[)er years to bigotry or scep-
ticism ? Yet the admonisliers and the admonished were
alike sincere, " walking in the liglit "' granted to each of
them. One is well disposed to recognize some other than
an angry or vengeful feeling in the inflictors of this
harsh discipline; for we know that only a stern fidelity
to their own convictions could promfit them thus to deal
with a revered man whom they all loved and highly
[irized.'

Ihinstcr had sent in a second resignation Oct. 24, 1654.
Nine days after this, November 2, the Overseers had elected
Charles Chauncy as his successor. He also was a heretic
on tiie subject of liajitism, believing tliat though infants
were jiro]ier subjects of the rite, it ought to be performed
by immersion, not by sju'inkling. On this, and on another
lielief of his, namely, that thr Lord's Sii]iper ought to be
observed in the evening, he agreed to the requisition of

^ In that prpoious jiublication, " N^'^v Eii'^lami's Fir^l Kiiiits," printed in
London, in an early year of Dunster's presidenev, we read ■. " Over the College
is Master Henry Dniister jilaced as rrcsiJint, n learned, eoniideralde, nnd in-
dustrious man, who has so trained up his |iupil9 in the tonpies and arts, and
so seasoned them with the prineiides of Divinity and t'hristi.inity, that »'c
have, to our pjrcat comfort, and in truth beyond our hoi>es, tK-hehl their pro-
press in learning and godliness also." ('olt(»n Mather says of his removal from
oflice for his heresy : " He tilled the Overseers with iinea.sy fears, lest the stu-
dents, by his means, shoidd come to be ensnared." The famous Uay Psalm
Hook, jirinted at Cambridfjo in Ifi 10, after it had passed tln' hands of the three
miriisters who prepared it, was submitted to Dunster, " to use a Utile more art
upon it." Mather says Dunster " revised and refineil the trnnslotion." See-
ing that it is what it is after this jirocess, what must it have been before it T

THE BAPTISTS UNDER EURITAN DISCIPLINE. 401

the Overseers tliat he would reserve expressing himself.
He had heen ahout returiiiiig to England.

The high-minded and patient Dunster had sent a letter
to the Court Nov. 4, 1G54, acquiescing in his lot. lie was
living in a house the means for building which fur the
nse of tlic president had been largely secured by him-
self, from liis special friends. It was provided with re-
sources for the coming of a sharp New England winter.
His wife was sick, as was his youngest child, seriously.
His accounts, piihlic and private, were unsettled. He de-
sired the Court to consider these matters, and referring
to his "extraordinary lal)ors " for the C(jllege for fourteen
years, he asks for a continued temporary use of the Jiouse.
There are many papers preserved in our State Archives,
which, had they been lost, though they might have left
some gaps in our history, would have made unnecessary
some of the blushes caused by the fathers for their pos-
terity. Among them is one ' containing a reply of the
Court to Dunster's letter. Bcllingham and Kndicott were
then Governor and I)ei)uty. The reply sneers at Dunster's
reference to his "extraordinary labors," asking what he
had done except as belonging to his station. The house
is refused to him while settling his accounts, because he
might protract the matter indefinitely. On the 10th of
the month Dunster again addressed the Court in reply
to their curt answer to him. The " Considerations " wliich
lie offers concern most the season for a houseless and
afliietcd family. The close of it touches a tender point :

"The whole transaction of this business is such, which in process
of time, when all things come to mature consiikrution, may very
probably create a grief on all sides, yours sulisi'i|U('iit, as mine an-
tecedent. I am not the man you take me to l)e. Neither, if
you knew what I liold and why, can I persuade myself that you
would act as I am at least tempted to think you do." '

> Mass. Archives, Iviii. 2G. = II. id., Iviii. 30.

26

402 THE PURITAN AGE.

He was allowed to remain till March. Besides his own
children, he hud those of his wife by a former husband to
provide for. His oldest child was nine years, the young-
est thirteen months old. He went t(j reside at Seituate,
the Old Colony being more tolerant ; and here he did kind
service in hel[)ing the minister. He never, like Roger
Williams, submitted to lebaptism. His affairs occasion-
ally calling him to Cambridge, where he still held church
relations, a eliild was there born to him in llecember,
165G. For not offering it for baptism he was presented
by the Grand Jury to the Cambridge Court, April 7, 1657,
admonished, and required to give bonds to appear at the
ne.xt Court of Assistants, for breach of the law of 1G4G.
He died at Scituate, Feb. 27, 16.59, and by his own request
his body was brought for interment in sight of the hall
where he had so devotedly labored and which he so fondly
loved. ^ He kindly remembered in his will ilitchcll and
Chauncy.

There is no single exercise in our early annals more
painful than is ofl'ercd us in the ease of Dunster, of the
mixed authority, civil and religious, in what we have learned
to regard as ways unjust, bigoted, and cruel in the treat-
ment of matters of conscientious opinions. Its peculiar
quality is that it emphasizes the fact that personal attach-
ments and high public interests were here sacrificed, and
held to be justly and necessarily surrendered, in order that
an impartial and awful sternness of fidelity to a standard
of religious obligation might not be violated. The Court
and the Overseers seem to us to have been actually besotted

^ Morton, in New En^^laml's Memoriftl. .says : " lie wft.*; cmlxilmed and ri--
moved to * ambriii^e, and bonorobly luiricd." This enibnluiinj^. \\liioli was
done liy filling; the eoffm witli tjinsy and other lierb.s. heljied in the identi-
Ijeation of the ri-niaiiis of Oiinster. The meniorial stone first jdantcd over
them liaving dceayed, and the inseription hnvin<^ liisappean-d, tliere had been
some uncertainty a.s to the spot. Tld.s was ri'movnl by tlie searrli, the herbs
still retaining their fragrunce in 1845, when the Corporation provided a new
and (itling nionumeiit.

THE BAPTISTS UNDER PURITAN DISCIPLINE. 403

in their course with Dunstcr. Not a single word to his
discredit or discsteem is found on tlie record. They well
knew his fitness and worth in his place. They put a just
estimate upon his talents, his piety, the singular graces
of his character, and his eiuincuce in all that they prized
as scholarship. That they should have dealt with him as
they did is an apt dlustration of the view taken of their
ideal, design, and method of a Biblical commonwealth, in
these pages. It is also an illustration of the fact that the
spirit and ty]^e of their bigotry, however in part originat-
ing in the infirmities of human nature, drew some of its
relentless severity from their creed.'

The Baptists were the first among the sects or denomi-
nations, breaking in upon the "standing order" of the
Puritan church in Boston, to establish tliemselves as a
separate congregation in the interest of the special tenet
of their creed. The distinction thus won by tlie sect was
honorably secured by patient, peisistent fidelity and con-
stancy under a severe ordeal of opposition. Tiiere was
something far more significant in innovation, and in the
direction of a radical, revolutionary cbaiiL'c in the doctrinal
pilatform of this fellowship, than in that of eitlier of the
other existing ofTshoots from the Congregationalism of
the Calvinistic or Westminster pattern. To this fact we
must refer the attem[)ted repressive effort of the Court
in its harsh di-aling with the now sect. The old Congre-
gationalism of the Colony is now rrprcsented liy many
separate fcllowshi[is still holding to the original policy of
church institution and administration, but distinguished
by degrees and shades of liberalism in doctrinal beliefs.
The Baptists, however, struck at the most vital point in
the Puritan method for the constitution and perpetuity
of a church. The children of those already in covenant,

' Life of Hi'DPr' DiinstPi', iiy Rev. Jcrominli f'hniilin, D.D. Boston, 1872.
This little volume is alike valuable for the autlieutieity of its matter and the
impartiality of its spirit.

404 THE PURITAN AGE.

like the heirs of an estate, were to accede to the Christian
inhei-itance. The rile; of liaptisin was the initiatory seal
of this heirsliiii, ami full ])oss<'ssioii would follow when in
maturer vears they came undei- the covenant of their
parents. IJiit neither the Court nor tlie elders could
notice without anxiety and dismay the painful facts all
too forciiilv pressi'd upon their attention, that large num-
bers of children were f^rowing uj) around thcni who had
not been baptized liecause their jiarents liad not been in
covenant; and also that many baptized in infancy iiad,
on reaching mature years, failed to become church mem-
bers. The sad question naturally presented itself whether
the community henceforward was to consist firevailingly
of a heathen or a Christian j)opulation. The doctrinal
position of the Bajitists rather aggravated than relieved
the an.xiety and perplexities of the authorities in Church
and State on this point. Making no account of any Chris-
tian bii'thright accruing to children from their jiarents,
infant ba[itisni was discredited, and it was left for each
man and woman under religious experience to receive
"believer's baptism," and that by immersion.

The house of worship now in succession occu]iicd by the
First Baptist Society in Boston, bears the inscription,
"Organised in l(iG5." It is a jieaceful way of stating an
occasion which engaged many measures of ill-teniper and
intolerance. There were worthy persons then in the Col-
ony who had been honored members of Baptist fellowships
in England. Some had quietly held their convictions
without obtruding them ; others had ado]ited Baptist
views while members of the Buritan churches, and some
of these, who had given offence, had been under discipline.
In the year just UK^ntionecl several persons, with the cour-
age (jf thi'ir convictions, guthei'cil in an assemblv of their
own, with ordinances. The tiencral Court, in Cctobor,
Ititj;'), followint; the action of a jirevious magistrates' court,
thus dealt with the leaders of the movement. The charge

THE BAPTISTS UNDER PURITAN DISCIPLINE. 405

was of " a schismaticall rending from t)ic communion of
the churches lieerc, and setting up a {)ublick mcetingo in
opposition to the ordinances of Clirist iierc piil)licly exer-
cised." Tiiey had persisted in the offence after warning.
They were further charged —

" with prophaning the holy appointments of Christ, and, in special!,
the sacremeiiLs of baptisme and the Lord's supper by admiuistring
the same to persons under censure of an approved church among
us, and presuminrj as a covert of theise their irreligious and [ler-
nicious practices, to declare themselves to be a church of Christ."

Notwithstanding another solemn admonition, tlie offend-
ers refused to give up their meetings under a church
form. For their "presumption against the Lord and his
holy appointments, as also the fieace of this govcrimient,"
they were sentenced to disfranchisement and committed
to prison.' The ne.xt year, September, Kiiiti, the Court
alloweti their discharge on the payment of their fines. It
also provided for a large public meeting " with a great
concourse of peofile," which the prisoners were reipiired
to attend, where "diverse ciders" attemjited to convince
them of their errors. t)f course it was in \aiu. So in
May, HMj8, the Court made a further eff<irt. A long pre-
amble describes the offenders as " obstinate and turbulent
Anabaptists formed with others in a pretended church
estate, without the knowledge or approijation of the au-
thority here established, as the law re(|uires, to the great
griefe and offence of the godly orthodox." Some of them
are excommunicated persons. They have chosen ofilcers
not conformable to the law which re(|uires such to be
" able, y)ious, and orthodox." They assert that their pro-
ceedings are " according to the mind of flod," and they arc
not convinced to the contrary. Thc'y make —

" infaunt baptisme a nullitie, thereby making us all to be unbaptized
persons, and so consequently no regular churches, ministry, or
' Rccordi, vol. iv. j't. ii. p. 230.

40G THE PUIilTAN AGE.

onliiianres, and also renouncing all our cliurclies as being so bad
and fdrrnpt tiiat tlicv arc not fill to be held communion willi, —
lliiis selling u]) a free scliool for scduciion into waves of error,
and opening a door for all sorles of ubomiiiali(jns lo come in
among us, witli conteinpl of our civil order, and tbe authority
here established," etc.

The Court, tliercfore, "judge it necessary that they bo
rcmooveil to some other part of this country or elsewhere." '
They are sentenced to impiisonment and banishment, but
without avail.

From fragments of information to be gathered from
sources outside of the Records, we learn that there was
much agitation of feeling and popular dissent and oppo-
sition of judgment as tu the course pursued by the Court.
The complaint and the lament just quoted from the Rec-
ords enable us to apprehend the dismay and consternation
felt by the authorities. The new sect, planting itself as
res(jlut('ly upon Scri[iture [irinci]iles as did their opponents,
would not yield tjj dictation or prohibition. Yet, as the
Court rightly afhrmed, their fundamental tenet, and the
[iractice conformed to it, dealt a fatal blow to the doctrinal
system f)f the "standing order." It made "infaunt baptismc
a nullitie;'" it [ironounced all the members of the churches
" unbafitizcd persons," and left them without a \alid minis-
try and ordinances. The Baptists, as yet having no trained
and able ministers, were served by unordained lay exhorters,
wild also ventured to ofiiciate in the ordinances, thus open-
ing "a free school for seduction into wayes of error." TJie
"great concourse of people" who had crowded to listen to
the debates between the elders and the new dissenters,
included many sympathizers with the latter, and of course
the number of them would increase. The Court was fur-
ther greatly scandalizeil and evidently irritated by a peti-
tion from several considerable persons in Boston and
CJharlestown, desiring favor for the Baptists under its dis-

' Kucords, vol. iv. pt. ii. p. 371.

THE BAPTISTS UNDER PURITAN DISCIPLINE. 407

cipline. The petition is said to have contained " many
reproachfull expressions against the Court and their pro-
ceedings." Several of the signers were summoned, some
of whom expressed tlieir sorrow for their act, and were
let off. The magistrates succeeded in ferreting out two
" clieife promoters of tlie petition, who had gone from
house to house to get hands to it." These refusing " to
discover the first contriver thereof," were admonished and
fined '

But the Court was compelled to yield to tlie persistence,
fidelity, and quiet patience of these "turbulent Anaba[>
lists." Both the name and the epithet attached to it had
lost all proper meaning. The Baptists, correctly so called,
built their place of worship, coiitmited themselves with
such leaders in their services as they could procure, and
did not have to wait long before tliey were well furnished
with able and learned divines. Courtesies and acts of
fellowship between the Congregational and the Baptist
ministers of Boston were the means of a graceful recon-
ciliation of a grievous strife.

One other struggle, and that the severest and most
tragic of the efforts of the Biblical commonwealth to
maintain its rule against an equally resolute opposition, is
now to engage our attention. It will close the warfare
of militant Puritanism.

* Records, vol. iv. jit. ii. p. 413.

XII.

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS.

The first English settlers of tlie peninsula of Boston,
with its northern extremity rising from the deej) waters
of the Bay, and its southern border united to the mainland
by a long, narrow neck, approved of the site for two suffi-
cient reasons, — the harbor watei-s left them free inter-
course with the rest of the globe, and the slender neck
might easily be fortified against an inroad of the sa\ages.
An early visitor here commended the situation also for the
reason that tlie neck would keep out mosquitoes, as it
made the peninsula, literally, almost an island. This
last hoped-for advantage, as the inhabitants of the town
ever since liave had occasion to be well aware, was delu-
sive. Mosquitoes have always had free access here, yield-
ing only to the autumn frost. The savages, though more
than once dreaded, never crossed the neck but as friends
or diplomats. But the sea-waters were not so secure.
Many a ]ianic and thrill of dread struck through the hearts
of the inhabitants, at intervals for more than a century and
a jialf, on rumors that French men-of-war were lio\cring
near the Bay, that Spanish cruisers, privateers, and jiiratcs
were at liand to cast their volleys or to levy contribu-
tions. But, considering the occasinn of it and the lament-
able issues to which it 1(^1, luner was there a sharper
shock or a more ominous consternation caused to the
magistrates of the town than when, July 11, 1G56, tid-
ings were circulated that there was a ship in the harbor

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 409

bringing two Quaker women from England by way of Bar-
badoes. Wore it not for the tragic consequences, in-
cluding the darkest stain, among many other lamentable
incidents, upon the annals of the Biblical commonwealth
of Massachusetts, which followed upon the arrival of those
two female apostles of truth and peace, we might pause
over the absurd and comic elements of the consternation
and panic caused by the occasion to tliose grave magis-
trates.' The women, as a matter of course, were rightfully
BUjiposed to bring with them a good supply of tliose mis-
chievous and explosive little tracts, the munitions of their
sect, as dreaded as was French ordinance.

Before narrating the proceedings which insued upon the
spreading of these evil tidings, let us note the quality and
energy of the two forces which were tlion brought into
siiarp Collision. The strongest and the weakest points
of attack and resistance of both the jiartics present them-
selves at the opening of the strife.

The Puritans and the Quakers at that precise peiind
represented tlie two most discordant and antagonistic
bodies, or sects, by which Christendom was dividccl. The
attitude of hostility in which si>-called Papists anil Protes-
tants stood to each other, could hardly show more (jf alien-
ation, antiftathy, and even rancor, tliaii were drawn out
when the Quaker defiantly faced the I'liritan, claiming to
have a special mission of rebuke to him from Heaven. All
the differences of sentiment, belief, conviction, and con-
duct which attach respectively to idealists and realists, to
conservatives and radicals, to literalisls and spiritualists,
would need to lie set forth most distinctly and emphatically
in order to show in full contrast the principles and methods
of the Puritans of Boston and their dreaded visitors. And

' Bi.shop, ftdilressinf; the ma<^stratcs, in his " New EnglanJ JmiKed,"
writes: "Two poor women orriving in vuur harbor, so shook ye, to tlie ever-
lasting shame of you, and of your established peace and order, 03 if a formid-
able army had invaded your borders."

410 THE PURITAN AGE.

wliat after all makes the trajTic narration before us one
that will draw must severely ii])on our candor, impartiality,
and sympathy, is the undeniable, indeed the obtrusive fact,
that I'liritans and Quakers alike held their principles and
convictions with cipially intense and conscientious sin-
cerity, and exhibited an equal constancy and self-sacrifice
in tenacity and in fidelity to them.

Our Hynipathics, as we look back upon the melancholy
narrative, go with the Quakers, as temjjorarily the weaker,
but finally the victors through their j)atient heroism. Be-
sides this, the illumiuatinr; truths, the libcralizinfx spirit,
and the sturdy principles, with the aniialjle virtues, which
found their first earnest expression and consistent advo-
cacy in the Quakers, make us ready and glad to affirm that
the right was on their side, and that they were on the side
of the right. But that had to be proved. It is not to
be assumed as apparent, and least of all as to have been
recognizable by the Puritans. It may well be asked if
some sufierfieial readers of our history and some loving
chamjtions of the Quakers have not lost sight of the fact
that the Puritans also had consciences and principles, —
not attractive to us indeed, but very constraining and very
precious to them, as bought with a jirice, and held by them
devoutly as by an actual covenant between them and (u)d.
So inadequately has the intense sincerity of the Puritans
been afipreciatcd by some of their censorious judges, as to
have allowed the assumption, with a marvellous compla-
cency, that they should at once have stricken their colors
at the first volley of the Quakers. We may well use that
word " volley " in description of the scornful, bitter, and
contemptuous tones, language, e]iithets, and [)cremptory
demamls, with (li'uuueiations of I>ivirie judgments hanging
over them, by which the Quakers ihallenged the Puritans
at once to give up and renounce all the beliefs and usages
approxiiig them as in covenant with God. The Puritan
sermons, prayiMS, ministry, worship, and sacraments were

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 411

ill the plainest and rudest terms of speech, witli tlie glow
and passion of a burning zeal thrown into tliem, d»!clared
to be the mere ritual of the devil. A striking illustration
of the fact that sympathy in feeling will engage partiality
in judgment, is offered when the champions of the first
Quaker intruders into Massachusetts express strongly
not only their complaints but also their amazement, that
they should have had such a rough reception. The in-
tolerance of the Puritans, and their bigotry, were proper
subjects of rebuke by the Quakers. But when the Quakers
at once assailed with scorn and vituperation the religious
beliefs and methods of the Puritans, they themselves be-
came intolerant. As tlie event has jiroved, the cliaracter-
istic Puritan principles and usages wliich the Quakers so
reviled, — a jiaid ministry, prepared i>ulpit discourses, for-
mal services, and tlic ordinances, — have survived tlie pecu-
liarities of Quakerism. Renouncing the use of swords and
all otlier weapons, and non-resistants of all violence against
them, the Quakers, above all other contestants and assail-
ants, must be allowed to have waged the most galling war-
fare with the tongue. Before we bring the representatives
of tliese two sharply discordant parties into each other's
presence, we must inform ourselves, not only as to wlio and
what the strangers really were, but as to what, under the
circumstances, was of more consequence, — who and what
they were tliought to be. The fact that alike lien; and in
England the Quakers first and most offensively presented
themselves by the extravagances of their earliest manners,
deprived theirnoble principles of a fair and candid hearing.
Brains, imaginations, impulses, dreams, emotions, con-
sciences, and even the muscles and nerves of the Ijody, had
each a part and place in the intense workings of the relig-
ious sentiment, freed from former restraints, in novel and
startling manifestations during the middle of the seven-
teenth century in England. Strangely enough, it was from
the convulsive agitations and workings of muscles and

412 THE PURITAN AGE.

nerves by a few enthusiasts wlien under the dealing of map-
ist rates, that by a mere haji-liazard remark the disciples
of (Jcoi'gc Fox came to be known then, as afterward, as
Quakers. Their own chosen desifrnation — one which then
and ever since best ticcame them, in princi[ile and in life —
was "tile Society of Friends." In utterinf: their early
burdens and testimonies, they were oliserved to be exer-
cised liy \iolent shakinps and tremblings of their limbs and
bodies. Tiiey explained the phenomena by saying that they
trembled and quaked under the power of the .Spirit which
possessed them. "Then let them be called 'Quakers.'"
Those whom they offended and rebuked gave them the name
in derision. They made but slight objection to bearing it,
though they spoke of themselves as the peoidc " in scorn
called Quakers." Soon they acquiesced in the common use
of the epithet.

Still more strange is it that this trivial incident, which
singled out the least significant and wholly indifferent phe-
nomenon of bodily quaking for inventing a name for the
new sect, serves as a specimen examfilc to illustrate the
fact that for more than a score of years the mere oddities,
the offensive and ag<rressivc behavior, and the intensely
extravagant and insolent language of the Quakers, were so
obtruded by them as wholly to hide from rocotrnition the
lofty princi[iles of truth and righteousness which are the
real glory of their fellowship. The Quakers, however, were
themselves rightly chargeable for this obscuring of their
own light, and blinding their opponents to its manifestation
in them. Their words and behavior were heard and seen to
be offensive and repulsive before those who withstood them
cared to be informed of their principles. As it proved,
these |)rinci[iles were in themselves so startling and obnox-
ious in (heir novelty and radicalism as to require all their
bold and heroic lidelily and constancy, even to gain them a
hearing. But having some grand illuminating and liberal-
izing truths aa the staple of their principles, that fidelity

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 418

and constancy to them won them a triumph. The Quakers,
from being the least understood and appreciated, and the
most abusively and cruelly treated of all the contemporary
sectaries, were the first of them all to secure large respect,
immunity, and substantial independence. Before any other
body of Nonconformists obtained even that measure of ex-
emption from disabilities and penalti(;s which arbitrary
power at last yielded to them, the Quakers, partly from
being winked at, overlooked, let alone, and partly from win-
ning to themselves real res[)ect, held their meetings unmo-
lested, made affirmations instead of oaths, and solemnized
their own marriages. And this success they gained with-
out compliances or compromise. Tiie very radicalism of
their ]irincij)les came rather to amaze than to sliock or
offend or irritate those who cared to inform themselves on
the subject. But unfortunately our concern liere is with
those of the sect who first bore the name, and most offen-
sively in 8]ieech and demeanor obtruded themselves, by
their oddities and extravagances on men naturally most
antagonistic to them. The Puritans, alike in t)ld England
and in New England, regarded the first Quakers as —
using familiar words now current — we regard " tramjis "
and "cranks;" and this not without reasons furnished by
the Quakers themselves. For they were roamera and wan-
derers from their own homes and country, seemingly de-
pendent on chance fare ; they showed many signs of being
"distraught in their wits;" they were uncivil and churlish,
in substituting rude and blunt for courteous speech in ad-
dressing " HUj)criors."

There are two quite distinct classes of [)utilications mak-
ing up the literatui'e of Quakerism. Tiie opinion which a
reader in our time would bo likely to form of the sect at its
origin, of the character, spirit, education, and general de-
meanor and utterances of its memf)crs, will depend very
much upon which class of these puldications should chiefly
engage his attention and furnish him with his information.

414 THE PURITAN AGE.

To the first class belong; the orif,'inal contributions to that
lituratui'c made by its first individual members. Tliese arc
chielly small tracts containiiijr journals, cjjistles, nari-atives
of individual experience in conviction, in travel, and under
ojiposition, trials before ma^^istrates, and imprisonments.
These tracts came from the press voluminously, swelling
the flood of similar publications poured forth from the fer-
ment working in the brains, hearts, and consciences of
pco])le of all classes, especially of the middle class of Eng-
land, in the seventeenth century. These original tracts are
not easily accessiijle except by readers who can avail them-
selves of the stores gathered on the shelves and in the
cabinets of libraries rich in that spoil of elder times.
Occasionally they may be i)ickcd uji in the old book-stalls
of England, or turned out in searching garrets of ancient
dwellings. Only from these time-stained relics can one
catch the true aroma of the old spirit of those polemics.
They must be read in apjireciation of, though not necessa-
rily in sym[iathy with, the circumstances and the writers
which jirt)diiced tliem. Erom perusing a considerable num-
ber of them one can easily inform himself as to the truth
about a question concerning which some differences of
opinion have found e.\[iression, whether the earliest Qua-
kers were generally illiterate enthusiasts, intemperate in
ctmtroversy, and by their rude speech and unseemly behav-
ior provoked the treatment which they received. Roger
Williams, the most trenchant and sharivtongucd of all the
of)ponents and dis]iutants against tjuakei-ism, says that he
had read George Eox's folio, and "above si.\-score books and
j)apors" relating to the sect. These of course were its
earlirst literature. lie gives his judgment and estimate
(if this (Quaker literature in these words: "Their many
books and writings arc extremely Poor, Lame, Naked, and
Rwcld uf) only with high Titles and words of Boasting and
Vapour."' He adds, " that the Spirit of their Religion tends

* Pulilicntions nf Karra^Miisott <Miili, v. 5.

THE INTRUSION OP THE QUAKERS. 416

mainly to reduce Persons from Civility to Barbarisme."
Very many high encomiums have been passed by essayists
and literary critics, notably by Mr. Emerson, upon the rich
originality and vivacity of the religious genius of Fox, as
brightening the pages of his Journal and Epistles. But
Lord Macaulay, whose estimate of Fox is tart and flippant,
says that his "Journal, before it was |)ublislK'd, was revised
by men of more sense and knowledge than himself, and
therefore, absurd as it is, gives us no notion of his genuine
style." ' The historian does not give us his authority fur
this statement, and I liesitate to accept it. I have before
mc the folio edition of Fox's Journal published in 1694, four
years after his death, with fifty pages of prefatory mat-
ter by his devoted and ardent disci])le William I'enii ; and
also the folio collection of his " Epistles tu Friends," pub-
lislied in IGltS, with a preface by his loving disciple George
Whitehead. Nfitlier of these editors mentions any revision
of their originals, nor are there any tokens of a critical (jver-
sight. True, in reading the Epistles one may grow weary
over the very limited range of thoughts and ideas in them,
their lack of any glow of imagination, their repetition of a
few simj)le and gushing ])hrases of appeal and exhortation,
with an occasional intrusion of rant, and an almost maud-
lin liquidity of sentiment. But there ar(! many passages in
Fox's Journal which liave a marvellous vigor, sweetness,
and simple grace in the ex[)ression of the truths cauglit by
Ills spiritual insight. How could be expressecl with more
compreliensivcncss, force, and beauty, than in his words
following, the suthciency to a believer, of Jesus Christ inde-
pendently of forms, ordinances, ceremonies, priests, and
even Scri[)tures? Christ as tlie living and ever present
Head of the Ciairch is "their Teacher to instruct them,
their Counsellor to direct them, their Siiepherd to feed
them, their Bishop to oversee them, and their Prophet to
open divine mysteries unto them."

' History of England, chap. xvii.

416 THE PDRITAN AGE.

Recurring to the original Quaker tracts which pre-
ceded the publication of Fox's collected works, though he
liimsrlf sent forth several like single [jroduets of his pen,
we may recognize in them all two general common quali-
ties. Under quaint, often conceited, and often bellicose and
vapory titles, not infrequently with ras[)ing and objurgatory
e[)ithets, they contain the armory of sharp or defensive
weapons against priests, opponents, and persecutors, vindi-
cations against misrepresentation and abuse, and narra-
tives of knight-errantry on missionary work. Their other
prevailing quality is an overgush of sentiment, in a few
ever-recurring phrases of sometimes strong and tender,
more often diluted and even unwholesome emotional fer-
vors. They bear abundant evidence of sincerity and purity
of experience, princijjle, and purpose, with joys and T',\jt-
turcs of spirit over the deliverance from the fetters of lit^
eralism and formality, and the delights of free spiritual
intercourse with God and with the new brotlierhood. The
range of thought and sentiment through which their tes-
timonies and unstudied exhortations extended, made them
very effective in speech and in devotional utterances over
the hearts and minds of sympathetic hearers whose inner
longings craved something more a'jlow with sim[)le piety
than they found in Puritan divinity with its ministrations.
Travelling Quakers carried with them a full su[)[ily of their
bellicose and their hortatory tractates, dispersing them
freely as expositors of their principles, as denunciations of
their persecutors, or as means of drawing others to their
fellowship. When the obnoxious schismatics fell into the
hands of the authorities, who regarded them as ]iestilcnt
tramps and disturbers of the peace, these inflammatory
tracts wcru taken from them and committed to the fire. I
have several of them at my hand. It retjuires leisure and
a special mood of mind to engage interest upon them.
Thry mark faithfully a stage of progress in the emanci-
pation of mind and si)irit, in the middle classes of society.

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 417

from the cramps and fetters, the impositions and disabling
limitations of priestly sway, and the literalisms and for-
malities of the old religious rule. At the same time
these tracts reveal to us that the illumination and the
audacity requisite for the leaders in this special stage of
advance did not leave their own spirits wholly unclouded,
nor stop guardedly at the bounds where courage tres-
passed beyond order and decency.

The amount and comprehensiveness of what may be
called the Quaker literature may be inferred from the fol-
lowing titles of two considerable volumes; namely, " Bibli-
otheca Anti-Quakeriana ; " or, A Catalogue of Books adverse
to the Society of Friends, — together with the Answers
which have been given to some of them by Friends and
others;" by Josepli Smith. London, 1873. 8vo. pp. 474.
" Bibliotheca Quakeristica : A Bibliography of Miscella-
neous Literature, relating to tlie Friends. Chietly writ-
ten by persons nut members of their Society ; " by Joseph
Smith. London, 1883.

The comi)ilcr of these titles, with biographical sketches,
allows himself in both works a consideraljle range of lib-
erty, aa he includes many tracts and volumes having con-
nection witli the views and affairs of tlie Friends only very
indirectly, and i)rincipally as associated witli the enormous
outpourings of tlie press on the subjects in discussion and
controversy with the utterers and antagonists of enthusiasm
and fanaticism of the time.

Nor should we fail to note that the moat fiery and spicy
of the early tractates of Quakerism met witli responses of
like character from the conservatives of the old rule whom
they aggrieved or outraged.

We can well understand what were the tone and con-
tents of the contemporary tracts tiirown back to the Qua-
kers from those who scorned or dreaded them, under such
titles as these: "Hell Broke Loose ; or, an History of the
Quakers both Old and New ; " by Thomas Underbill. 1660.

418 THE PURITAN AGE.

" Antichrist's Strongest Ilold Overturned ; or, the Founda-
tion of tlie Religion of tiic People called Quakers, Bared
and Razed;" by .John Wiggan. lliG.'j. "The Quaker
Catechism;" by Richard Baxter. 165G. "Quakerism the
Pathway to Paganism;" by John IJrown. 1G78. Roger
Williams's j)leasan('y and jiiijuancy led him to entitle his
onslaught upon Quakirism, " (j(!<)rgc Vox. I>igg'd out of
his Burrowes," thus paying his respects to Fox's able coad-
jutor, Edward Burroughs. The compliment was returned
in the answer to Williams entitled, " A New England Fire-
Brand Quenched." Morton, in his " New England Memo-
rial," ^ says that President Dunster, in his retirement at
Scituate from persecution, " opposed the abominable opin-
ions of the Quakers." Baylies ^ says that he was "vin-
dictive" in his treatment of them. On the other hand,
General C'udworth, of Scituate, who, though not a Qua-
ker, ojiposed their ill-treatment, said in a letter of 1G.58,
"Through mercy, we have yet among us the worthy Mr.
Dunster, whom llic Lord hath made boldly to bear testi-
mony against the spirit of persecution."^ Something
more is to be said, further on, of the tongue rancor of
Roger Williams in his disputations against Quakers and
their ways.

The other class of Quaker publications, coming mainly
from those who had no share in theii- early contentions,
buffetings, and sufferings, but were in fellowslii]i and
hearty svmpathy with them, were the calm and intelligent
expositions of their jirincijilcs, vindicating them from cal-
umny, and proudly setting forth their purity, virtues, and
constancy. The fidelitv and absolute truthfulness of these
writers may be implicitly relied upon. Nor is it strange
if their candor and impartiality are occasionally at fault.
They depend for the most part upon compilations and

' Dnvis's cililior, p. 283.

' Hi.story of Plymouth Colony, ii. 50.

' Dijnm''8 History of Scitiiote, p. 248.

THE INTRDSION OP THE Q0AKER3. 419

digests irom the original Quaker tracts and journals.
" New England Judged," by George Bishop, was the fust
of these secondary publications.' Tlie best tribute that
could be jiaid to tlie substantial excellence, veracity, and
real practical value of Quaker [)rinciplcs, when freed from
the crudity and extravagance of their original utterance
and expression, was that during tlie lifetime of their first
generation they should have found such aide and adequate
champions and exemplars as licssc, ."^ewall, Pcnn, and
Barclay. ScwalTs " History of the Quakers " was pult-
lished in 1722. Basse's "Sufferings of the Quakers" was
published in 17.53. Robert Barclay, whose "Apology for
the Church and People of God called in derision Quakers"
we may even call the classical production of his fellowship,
published his able work in 1G7<). The dates of Fox's
two folios have already l)een given. The Friends have
alwavs been zealous in gathering, preserving, and editing
the manuscripts of their members.^

From both classes of these original tracts — those of the
Quakers and the anti-Quakers — we may well infer that
the two parties were on a level in tcmjier, effusiveness,
and stinging volubility in the assault and defence. Tiiese
characteristics are by no means restricted to this portion
of the polemical literature of the time, but run through tiic
whole of it. Fuller, if not riclier, than the vocabulary of
Shakspeare and Milton are these polemical fireworks in
the sharp epithetical adjectives in which the English lan-
guage abounds. Indeed, we learn its wealth in those terms

' Bishop's work was originally publiahcil in two parts, — the first in 1661,
the second in 1C67. The two, somewhat aliriJf,»eil, ie;\ppeared togetlier in
ifOQ, and bound with the volume is John Whiting's Answer to Cotton Ma-
ther's account of the New England Quakers, in bis Magnalia.

2 Tlie first collection of these pafiers was made uniler the superintendence
of Fox himself, at Swarthmore Hull, from 1651 to 1061. These are now pre-
served in the Friends' Ucpositorj', in Devonshire House, London. Joseph
Smith published in London, in 1867, " A Descriptive Catalogue of Friends'
Books," and in 1673, "A Catalogue of Books adverse to the Society of
Friends."

4-0 THE PURITAN AUE.

of speech only after reading largely in the literature of
sectarian controversy.

Quiikcrisni, in its ()rii.i;in, was an fch'rtirism in tenets of
belief and in iirincipies of life and conduct. It did not
oriirinatc us novelties either its eccentricities or its sul)-
stantiul |irinei|iles, with the apjilieation of them. All the
jK'Culiarities of opinion and all the oddities and extrava-
gances of dcnieanoi- first noticealjle in the f'riends had
been adopted and e.\hil)ite(] by one or another of the ex-
traordinary individuals or fellowslii[is among the sectaries
of the time. Edwards's " (langreena," Pagitt's " Ileresiog-
raphy," Featlcy's " Dippers Oijit," and other similar sum-
maries of novelties and extravagances of the time, show-
how those now identilied with (Quakerism had been antici-
pated. And this was in fact laigely the occasion of the
misconception, the ill-reception, and the odium which were
concentrated upon the Friends. Their opinions and actions
idcntiiit'd them with various types of fanatics and enthu-
siasts, who in their previous appearance had held these
heresies in cf)nnection with some gross immoralities, some
really malignant and defiant outrages and avowals whicli
made them justly amenable to restraints and penalties.
The Quakers really held none of these evil afliliations of
heresy. They were, llowe^■er, made responsiiile for them.
<>ne fif these extravagances was a denial and contempt of
civil magistracy, to which there are frequent references in
these pages. Tiie Quakers were charged with this lawless-
ness, but most unjustly. Tiiey objected only to the exten-
sion of the authority of magistracy over matters of religion
and conscience, but in other respects were the most ex-
emplary in their citizcnshi[). This liolding them as re-
8[)onsibh' for all tlie heresies in any way related to their
o])inions and principles, ami what was really irritating,
provoking, and ofTensivc in their own rant of speech and
unconventional and discourteous ways, were the chief oc-
casions for the odium and violence visited on them.

THE INTRUSION OP THE QUAKERS. 421

Of George Fox, the founder — or rather organizer — of
the Society of Friends, the best account we have is in liis
own words, as follow : —

A Testimony, liow the Lord sent G. F. forth at first, in the
Year 104.3.

Wlien the Lord first sent me forth in the Year 1C43, I was
sent as an Innocent Lamb (and Young in Years) [twenty years
of age] amongst (Men in the Nature of) AVolves, Dogs, Bears,
Lions, and Tigres, into the World, which the Devil had made like
a Wilderness, no right Way then found out of it. And I was
sent To Turn People from Darkness to the Light, which Christ,
the Second Adam, did Enlighten them withal ; that so they might
see Christ, their Way to God, with the Spirit of God, which he
doth pour upon all Flesh, that with it they might have an Under-
standing to know the Things of God, and to know him and his
Son Jesus Christ, which is Eternal Life ; and so migiit worship
and ser%'e the Living God, their Maker and Creator, who Uikcs
care for all, wlio is Lord of all ; and with the Light and Spirit of
God, they might know the Scriptures, which were given forth
from the Spirit of God in the Saints and Holy Mi>n and Women
of God.

And when many began to be turned to the Light (which is
the Life in Christ) and the .Spirit of God, which gave them an
Understanding, and had found the Path of the Just, the Shining
Light, then did the Wolves, Dogs, Dragons, Bears, Lions, Tigres,
Wild Beasts, and Birds of Prey make a Roaring and a Screeching
Noise against the Lambs, Sheep, Doves, ami Children of Christ,
and were ready to devour them and me, and to tear us to pieces.
But the Lord's Arm and Power did preserve me, though many
times I was in Danger of my Life, and very often cast into Dun-
geons and Prisons, and haled before Magistrates. But all things
did work together for gooil ; And the more I was cast into out
ward Prisons, the more Peojile came out of their Spiritual and
Inward Prison (through the Preaching of the Gospel). But the
Priests and Professors were in such a great Rage, and made the
Rude and Profane People in such a Fury, that I could hardly
walk in the Streets, or go in the High ways, but they were

422 THE PURITAN AGE.

ready ofl-tiracs to do me a Miscliii f. But Christ, who hath all
Power ill Heaven aud in tlie Earlii, did ho restrain and limit them
with his Power tiiat my Life was iiresirve<l, though many times I
was near killed. Oli, the Burdens aud Travels that I went under!
Often my l..ife prest down under the Spirits of Professors and
Teaciiers without Life, and the Profane 1 And besides the
Troubles afterwards with Baeksliders, Apostates, and false Breth-
ren,— which were like so many Judas's in betraying the Trulli, —
and God's Faithful and clioseu Seed, and eausiug the Way of
Truth to be evil spoken of I But the Lord blasted, wasted, and
confounded them, so tliat none did stand long ; for the Lord did
either destroy them, or bring them to nought, and his Truth did
flourish, and his People in it, to the Praise of God, who is the
Revenger of his Chosen.

Fox, a son of " honest ChrLstopher," a Tvcaver, was bom
at Drayton in July, lti24, and died Feb. 13, ICHO. The
above aecount of himself was evidently written as a retro-
spect of the past. The reference wjiich he makes to the
troubles wliich he had had with "Backsliders, Apostates,
aud false Brethren" should fi.\ our attention, because the
least offensive of tlie Friends suffered by nut bcint: distin-
guished from tliese unworthy pretenders and fanatics.

But Fo.\ does not here tell us vhv he was so wondered
at and ill-treated, thoiipli his Journal affords a full explana-
tion of the matter. As already stated, he and his brethren
were first known by wiiat was simply whimsical, ofTensivc,
and obtrusive in their ways, — their incivility, rudeness,
and seeming insolence and impudence. After Fox, in his
religious musings, had tried in vain to find S[iiritual help
from priests, profi'ssors, doctors of divinity, atid dissenting
teaciiers, he caine to the conclusion that they had none
to give him, had not even any thrmselves, but were all
"in the Dark." And soon he begun very frankly to tell
them so, with rebukes and reproaches, thus bringing them
into contemfit with tliose wliose respect and confidcnco
they desired. As his life was a wandering one, he had

^ THE INTBUSION OF TUE QUAKERS. 423

made himself a pair of " leather breeches," and was soon
widely known by an epithet drawn from that part of his
apparel. When it was noised abroad that " the man with
leather breeches" was near by, a crowd was soon at-
tracted. He visited "steeple-houses" to challenge and
rebuke the priest. When brought before magistrates he
refused to remove his hat, as this would signify deference
or worship, or the acknowledgment of a superior, giving to
men the honor that belonged only to God. For the same
reason he used "thee" and "thou," instead of the usual
plural pronoun, in addressing an individual. It may have
been that Fo.\: had read no otlier book tliuu the Bible. If
so, he illustrates a familiar saying, that a full knowledge
of the English Cible is an education. Fox being asked
his " warrant for the hat," that is, Scripture authority for
keeping it on in the presence of magistrates, master as
be was of the letter as well as the spirit of Scrii>ture, he
instantly quoted the only place where the word appears, —
Daniel iii 21, — of the three Jews who were bound before
Nebuchadnezzar " in their coats, their hoson, and their
hats," to be cast into the furnace.^ bo he proscribed

' Two missionary Quakers, Fisher and Stubbs, sent in to the Prince Elector
Palatine of the liliinc, through his sccretarj', word that they " had a message
for him." He received theiii courteously, and botli ut this interview, and at
the sujiper with his nobles to which he invited tbeiii, the Quakers found
much satisfaction in keeping on their hats, though all otliers were uncovered.
There may have been brains under those hats, but the fact was not jiroved by
this whimsey of the wearers, which, however, may have afforded as much
amusement to the host and his guests as it did of conscientious comfort to
the Quakers (Bishop, p. 17). I have somewhere met with an anecdote to
thiv elfect. A Quaker ajiproaching to address Charles I!., at ball jilay in the
Park, kept on his liat. The King, with alfected deference, removed his own
jilunied head-gear. The abashed Quaker remonstrateil, saying. " Friend,
thee need'st not remove thy hat." "Oh, no matter," rephed the volatile
monarch; "only, when a subject is couversitig with the King, it is usual for
one of them to be without his hat." Some of our mugistrates seem to have
caught discoui-tesy from the Quakers. Randolph, in his rejiort to the King,
of his reception by the Council for presenting his Majesty's letter, in 1678,
writes : " At the beginning of the reading, the w hole counuiU bting covered.

424 THE PURITAN AGE.

" bowinp " as the woman in the Gospel wlio " had a spirit
of infirmity was bowed together by the Devil," but straights
encd lip wlien dcli\('red. Seeming to imagine that the
people were aware of their jiaganism in using the names
of hcatlien gods for tlic days of the week and the titles
of the months, he hade them distinguish by numbers. He
])roscribed a knowledge of Latin, (ircek, and Hebrew for
a minister, as " tongues began at Babel." But these
crotchets would have been small cajiital on which to start
a new sect, and the offence going with them was trivial
to all but precisians. Fo.\'s own Journal tells us that —

" when the Lord sent me forth into tlie World he forbad me to
put off my Hat to any, High or Low. And I was required to Thee
and Tliou all Men and Women, without any respect to any Rich
or Poor, Great or Small. And as I travelled up and down, I was
not to bid People Good-Morrow or Good-Evening ; neither might
I Bow or Scrape with my Leg to anv one." '

He testified also against " Wakes or Feasts, May-Games,
Sports, Plays, and Shews."

" But the black, Earthlv .Spirit of the Priest wounded my Life :
And wlicn I heard the Bell-loll, to call People together to the
Steeple-house, it struck at my Life. For it was just like a Mar-
ket-Bell to jjather Peoph; together that the Priest mif:ht set forth
his Ware for Sale. Oh the vast sums of Money that are gotten
by the Trade they make of selling the Scri]itures ! "

Feeling such a burden in his soul, Fo.k could not restrain
it tJiere. Maeaulay saxs that Fox, so far from being
skilled in the languages, " did not know any language."

T put ofT my hat, whcrnupon three of the mnf^ftratea tooke olT tlioir hats
fiiul sate nnenvereil ; but tin- povernnr with the rest continued to keep their
lints on " (llntrliiii5i(m's < 'ollection of rnpers, ]i. .'')04>.

' It is with no intent of llatterv, a-s Fox thou^ciit, tiiat in Knpiisb idiomatic
sfieecli the plural "you," as in f>i*rninn "tiiey," i-"* used in addressing an indi-
vidual. Indeed, the address "thou" seems to be much more Btutely iu tone,
a.s reserved for the Ileity.

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 425

Fox well knew his own mother tongue, and it would be
difficult to find in any writer — exccjjt it may be in some
of the authors of tlie tracts that have been referred to —
a more copious and varied sujiply of epithetical adjectives,
abusive, contemptuous, objurgatory, and insulting terms,
than Fox uses against the priests and magistrates. Tliesc
invectives fired and gave a sting to the testimonies which
he delivered in the steeple-houses, and in his confronting
priests wherever he met them. It was fur these, and not
for his "theology" that he was buffeted ami imprisoned.
The Quaker historians arc exhaustively faithful in the sta-
tistics of their sufferers by persecution in England and
in New England. One hundred and seventy of such suf-
ferers are charged upon New England under fines and
various penalties. In England, Scotland, and Ireland
there are enumerated 13,2.5H, wliu bore mure or less of
these inflictions; 219 were banished at uni' time from
Bristol alone; 3liO died from [irison inliirtions and dis-
tempers, some having been CDnfuied eight or ten years.

Under the light and freedom uf our own times iiumanity
asserts its claims in restraining the penalties inflicted upon
all classes of offenders. This constitutes the principal if
not the only difference between the judieial proceedings
of former ages and our own. If a zealous I'liritnn of the
native stock in this city — whether to l)e regarded as sane
or insane, according to the view taken of liis action —
should on a Sunday morning rush into tlie Roman Catho-
lic Cathedral, wjien crowded with worshippers, and should
there utter fervent jtrotests against " the superstitions,
blasphemies, and idolatries " of the service, he would be
seized, and as it miglit ha[ipcn, with or without rough treat-
ment, depending nj)on the hands into which he fell, he
would be locked up in a station-house. On Monday he
would be brought before a magistrate and sentenced to
imprisonment or a fine. On a repetition of the offence
the penalty would be increased. If when released he

426 TUE PUIUTAN AOE.

should still insist upon bearing his testimony, he would
be iienuuiiently committed to an asylum as insane. Here
would be a deprivation of liberty without Itodily intliction,
now disused, not because undeserved, but because barba-
rous. In this last respect alone we nute the difTerence.
In the a;^e with which we are dealing, scourgin.L'S, mutila-
tions of the body, and cruel treatment in loathsome dun-
geons were additional punishments visited ujion all classes
of offenders, whether men of rank and oilice like Prynne,
Burton, and Bastwicke, or common vagabonds.' That
excellent English country gentleman, Jnhn Evelyn, Esq.,
pure and elevated in his character, who, contemporaneously
with the famous rou<^ and worldling, Samuel I'epys, was
writing so unlike a Journal, gives us, under date of July 8,
165G, while he was in l[iswich, the following entry : —

"I had the curiosity to visite some Quakers here in prison ; a
new plianatic sect, of dangerous principles, who show no respect
to any man, magi.strate or otlier, and seeme a melancholy, proud
sort of people, and e.\ceedingly ignorant. One of these was said
to liave fasted twenty dales; but another endeavouring to do the
like perished on the tenth, when he would have eaten but could
not."^

The Platonic divine, Henry More, who should have
appreciated the ideality of the Quakers, was impressed by
what he called their " Pharisaical Sourness," and by their
being " undoubtedly the most Melancholy Sect that ever
was yet in the world."''

It was with apostles of this strange and odious sect,
whose extravagances for the time obscured their noble

' Artlinr ('lirisloiilier Benson, in his " Sluily of thr Life anil Character of
Arililiislio|i l.niui," referring to the severity of the sentences pronounced by
llmt prelate iji the Star Clmnilier, so dreaded liy the Piirit.ans, says : " We
must ri-rneinlier that the slieiiring nway of ears was in tlie style of the time,
nml dill ncit seem to be any viuljition of the princiides of huninnity " (]i. 161 ).

' Journ:d, ii. 114.

• Entliu.siasnms Tiiunijiliatus, p. 19.

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 427

principles, that the Puritan magistrates of Massachusetts
were now to be confronted. It was stranfrc that a visit
from them shouhl have been so long defcried. For the
majority of the first disciples of the sect, under the glow
and joy of their new illumination, were prompted to wide
missionary wanderings beyond the bounds of Protestant-
ism, and even of Christendom, to communicate their mes-
sages. Twelve years had passed .since Fo.\ had begun his
travelling ministry. But the authorities of ilassacliusetts,
though so long spared their presence, were thoroughly
informed, through correspondence and boolcs, of the phe-
nomena of the sect in England, and had the utmost dread
of them, as bent on mischief of the most alarming and dan-
gerous ciiaracter.' Books of a similar sort with those of
the Quakers, such as the writings of the mystical enthusi-
asts John Reeves and Ludwii'k Muggleton, '• tlic two last
Witnesses," known to be circulating in the Colony, had
been proscribed by a law in lii.j4. A month before the
arrival of the Quakers a solemn Fast I>ay h;id beru olj-
8erved,"'to seek the face of God in behalf of our native
counti'ic, in reference to the abounding of errors, especially
those of tiie Ranters and Quakers." Tlicre was no law as
yet on the statute-book concerning them, and tliey could
legally be got rid of only by an application of the law
against strangers passed in the Antiuomian strugirle. The
charges which the Quaker historians visit upon tlic I'uiitan
magistrates for all their severities against tlic intruding
Quakers begin at this point: that before they had com-

' It 13 possible that the first repoi-Ls which liad been lecfiveil hiTo about
the Quakers iu Jjnshind soon after their n|i|ie!imnee, may have jironipteil the
use of some peculiar ex|iression3 in tin- elaborate eceiesiastieal laws jiassi-J by
the Court in November, ]G46. In imposing a tine for non-attendance on, and for
disturbing, worsliip, the law refers to such as " renouncing cliureh estate or miu-
istry, or other ordinances dispensed in them, either upon pretincc that the
churches were not jilanted by any new apostles, or that ordinances are for enr-
nall Christians, or babes in Christ, and not for spiritual and illuminate per-
sons," etc. (Uecords, iii. 100).

428 THE PURITAN AGE.

mittcd any offence, and wliilo there was no law by which
they could he so summarily dealt with, they were treated,
as it were l)y anticipation, as culprits. The first comers
puflered no hodily infliction, save eonfincnir'nt to prevent
the " infection of their principles." I'Miiishnient indeed,
in till' form of fines, and a l)iinil tn curry awny their un-
wclcnme passcngrrs, wi/re, as we sliull see, exacted of the
master mariners who had unwittingly brouglit them liere.
There is no evidence on the Records tliat the magistrates
felt any embarrassment about the matter. They found in
their charter a provision which, as tliey interpreted it. would
fully warrant their proceedings. This provision made it
lawful —

"for the governors and officers of tfie said Company, for their
special defence and safety, to incountcr, repulse, repell, and resist,
as WL'll by sea as by land, all such person and persons as shall at-
tempt or enterprise the destruetion, invasion, detriment, or aunov-
ance to tlie said plantation or inhabitants."

Nor were the magistrates troubled by any misgiving that
they were trespassing beyond their bounds of accordance
with the laws of England. For. either with or without law,
saving only in the execution of the last penaltv, the magis-
trates simply folldwcd amjile Englisii jirecedents in their
treatment of the Quakers.

The claim of the magistrates by their Charter to exclu-
sive riglits of territory and habitancy passed for nothing
with the Quakers. They regarded themselves as Apostles
of the [jiglit, and so, like tlie sunbeams, they bad eminent
rights (if entering and domain over Christendom and hea-
thendom. The magistrates from the iirst, and continuously,
tried to distinguish in tlieir legislation and treatment be-
tween those whom they insisted on regarding as strangers,
strolling vagrants, with no errand here but one of discord
ami mischief, and such as might catch tlie infection anumg
their own people. Itut it proved iu\praetieablc to follow

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKEB3. ^29

the distinction in inflicting penalties, save that neither of
the four whose lives were taken from them were resident
here. The Quakers, witli many other troublesome intruders,
insisted that as free-born Englishmen they had a rigiit to
enter and traverse any portion of the realm. But we should
be wholly inappreeiativc of the spirit of the time and of
those whom it stirred, to expect of the authorities to wait
for any special enactment in the emergency. They pro-
ceeded exactly as does tlie Board of Health in its sum-
mary measures on learning of the arrival in the harbor
of infected persons, not waiting to see if harm would come
from tlicir presence.

Now, as we have the full, intelligent, and judicial privilege
of thoroughly understanding and a[)preciating the motives,
views, and principles of both the parties who were to conic
into collision, — as neither of them did those of the otluT
when they were confronted, — let us try, with all the candor
and impartiality we can summon to guide us, to put our-
selves into their respective positions. What was the state
of mind, the intent, the attitude of each of them ? Allow-
ing for the lieat and elation of zeal and the possible spirit-
ual conceit of the first Quakers here, we nnist rerognizc
in them a thoroui:hly sincere, ]iure, unselfisli, and ln-roic
prompting. They knew very well, what was su rife in l'>ng-
land, that there was in Masssachusetts a ride of the most
ojipressive and unrelenting severity both in civil and relig-
ious administration. The English Court and Council had
been beset by the complaints of sufferers, and one might
meet in the streets with those who, in tellinL'' their griev-
ances, would bitterly portray the harshness, bi^^otry, and
cruelty of " the rule of the Saints." The Quakers, by tests
satisfactory to themselves, trusted themselves in distiu'.niisli-
ing between the promptings of mere inclination and ordi-
nary motives, and their direct impulses, monitions, and
inspirations from God. They were "free" or "not free"
to do this or that. Their own wills were held or controlled

430 THE PUniTAN AGE.

by a power outside of tliem. The PuritanB and the Quakers,
widi ('(jiial sincerity and fidelity, ai'kn(nvlc(li^ed tiiis C(jntrol-
linu; sway over Iheni, with this extremely diverse source of
it : widi tln' Puritan it was the letter of the Bihle ; with the
Quaker it was the illumination of the Spirit. The Quakers
could judge when thfy had a Divine call to go or stay, to
wander or ahide in their i)laces. They afiirnied that they
came liere in "the movings of the Lord." Messages also
were committed to them to he eoumiunicafcd, and few of
these were agreeable to those who rccei\ed them. They
had "burdens of the Lord," to be relieved only by dennn-
ciations of judgments and calamities. Under this divine
promptincr, successive Quakers, single or in companionship,
were "moved of the Lord to go to Boston," there to con-
front the anthorities and to bear testimony against the aus-
terities and formalism, literalism, deadness, and rottenness
of Puritanism. Tliey had large, free, enlightening liberaliz-
ings, anil lienedictivc truths and principles, to announce.
They were well aware what a reception they would meet,
and what treatment they would receive ; and they were
well f>repared for it. They would be blameless and harm-
less in their relation to civil law, non-resistant under vio-
lence ; would pay no fines, swear no oaths, make no pledges,
yield no willing oliedicnce to unjust commands, and bear
their testimony till conscience within gave them a full
discharge.

The buffetiniis and inflictions which their fellow-believers
were meeting in EiiLdand assured them that tlmse who dared
to face the concentration and intensity of Puritanism here
would have a haid warfare. The only weajnm of olTence or
defence they could employ was the tongue. And this, with
the language which it might use, they did not receive as
their own ; for while the Puritans rc-garded their utterance
as " set on fire of hell," the Quakers believed it to be taken
into the service of God. Such was the Quakers' view of
their erranil and duty here. Most faithfully and heroically

TOE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 431

did they discharge it. Tlicir minds and consciences had
been opened to what tliej' believed to be tlie shameful and
startling fact that tlie religion of their time.whicii pretended
to stand for Christianity, was the merest sliaui and ]iyi>oc-
risy. Tlie plainest teachings and doctrines of Jesus Christ,
like non-resistance to evil, unworldliness, seriousness of
life, simplicity of speech, a prohibition of war, offensive or
defensive, were with a cool effrontery pronounced to be
only "counsels of perfection" utterly im[)racticaljle in act-
ual life. The Quakers set themselves to carry out those
counsels of perfection, and to allow that the very least
portion of literal Cliristiauity is impracticable of obedience.
In the spirit of sincerity, of fidelity, constancy, and purity,
wjiich animated and guided them, the Friends, as a fellow-
ship, have come the nearest, lx)th in spirit and in practice,
to conformity with the Christian rule of life, of all the sects
which have borne the title of disciples. Had they, here or
elsewlierc, sought to establish a tlieocracy, unlike that of
the Puritans, it would liavc found its ninilel in tlie New
Testament, not in the (Jld. As flic ()(]iliti(\s, eccentricities,
and extravagances, wliich, so unfortunately for them, in-
troduced them to ridicule and ill trcatmrnt, have gradually
been droi>i)ed as purely trivial and wliolly distinguishable
from the vitalities of their .system, the lofty i)rinci])le3 and
truths for which fliey secured an appreciation have been as-
similated with the tenets and practices of otlior Ciiristian
fellowships.'

On the other hand, iiow stood the Puritans to meet and

1 On Sunday, Ang. 23, 1887, the writer, in ottenil.mce at the Krii-nds' wor-
ship in their ohl meeting-house in Newport, R. I., wliere the yp:irly meeting
of the Society is held, wonhi have found it dilhcult to distinguish tlie place
and the services from those of many other worshipping congregations. There
was no pulpit, choir, or musical instrument. But there were raised seats from
which two men and one woman offered earnest exhortations and prayers, with
Scripture readings, while three different individuals, in intervnlsof .lilence, sung
hymn and psalm, others joining in. But in the considerable congregation no
one of either se.x had any distinguishing garb.

4;i2 THE PURITAN AGE.

deal witli the encounter before them ? They also had con-
sciences and convictions, most intense in their action and
assnrance. 'I'hcy belie\cd they had the lonp: start and ad-
vantafj:e over the Quakers in liaving entered into a covenant
of tlicir own with (iod, thi(jutrh the guidance and pledge
of a sacred book. They had a licritage to defend and enjoy.
At their own charges they liad become possessed of certain
rights of property, territory, and authority. For more than
a score of years they had been laying the foundations of
order and government in one patch of a vast wilderness,
meeting a constant succession of harassing and threaten-
ing experiences. They had planted themselves upon a
solemn purpose of a commonwealth administered by '' the
laws, statutes, and ordinances of God," and, still in the
first stage of the experiment, had as yet no misgiving that
it was to fail. The all-essential condition of their security
and success was in a general if not a unanimous adhesion
to their covenant, and so to each other, without discord or
schism. What they had most to dread was contention
among themselves, contempt of authority, and sedition.
They would not go out of their bounds to molest others;
and the wide-reaching continent afforded to others free
opportunities for trying tlieir own experiments.

Sucli were the Quakers and the Puritans as they met in
an antagonism fully understood and appreciated by us,
but not at all so by each other. The Quaker came, with
no intent wliatever of peaceful and permanent residence
and citizenship, or to cast in his lot and interest with the
colonists. His eiTaiid was a transient one, and the avowed
purpose of it was sure to rouse ill-feeling, liad passions,
distraction, and a revolutionary convulsion in society. If
Winthrop said truly of tlie Antinomians, that their spirit
and jirinciples were such that tliey could not peaceably
abide liere, what was to be said of wandering Quakers who,
after bearing their testimony and scattering their inflam-
matory books, should watch to sec the mischief that would

THE INTRUSION OP THE QUAKERS. 433

follow ? The alternative seemed to the authorities in pos-
session liere a very simple but a very peremptory one.
Either they must at once abandon their precious, endeared,
and consecrated system, — their covenant and recognition
of it in worship, — their prayers, sermons, church rela-
tion and ordinances, baptism and the Lord's Supper, their
educated ministry and their weapons of defence, or say to
the intruders, " Go away, and stay away. We have no
place for you here. Go unharmed now ; but if you persist
in annoying and exasperating us, it shall be at the peril of
your lives." The Quakers chose to meet that peril, and
they triumphed gloriously over it.

It would be equally out of place and wholly futile to in-
troduce the narrative that is to follow, with an attempt to
suggest anything in relief or justification of tlic measures
of repression and infliction so fatuously adopted by the
magistrates in dealing with the dreaded intruders. By
our standard of right, justice, and expediency, thrown back
nearly two and a half centuries, not a word can be said
even in jjalliation of the course ]iursued. The prompting
comes to all of us, under our enlightenment and enfran-
chisement, to ask. Why were not the intruders allowed
to come on shore, bear their testimony, and scatter their
tracts? Their message would have been soon told. If there
had been a prospect of its being kindly received, it might
have been more courteously spoken, and would certainly
have done the Puritans much good. But that question put
to the magistrates at the time would have been very much
as if one should ask those of our time, Why not allow a
ship-load of immigrants infected with the small-pox to
land and circulate through our streets ? Tasking as the
effort is, we must endeavor to appreciate the view of their
obligations taken by the magistrates themselves as set to
administer a Biblical commonwealth. During the inter-
mission of the General Court all responsibility lay with
them. We give them the benefit of all the grace possible,

28

434 THE PURITAN AGE.

when wc rccopnize tlifir own resolute and do;7ircd purpose
at all costs and iiazards to do wliat Ihey rejrardcd as a
clear and jiositive duty, assumed by oath for an inifieriUed
community. We can easily detect liow soon and how
fatally there mingled with this sense of the duty of magis-
tracy an exasperated passion, comini]^ in throufrh the ever-
open inlets of hinnan nature, at the bold contempt and
defiance of their authority. The discomfiture of the ex-
periment in government which they weio trying, august
and righteous as they regarded it, could come only through
its proved impracticability, as involving the harshest
bigotry and a barbarous cruelty.

As there was no special law yet on their statute-book
against Quakers, — except as inferential from that passed
in the Antinomian troubles, — the magistrates, in a decla-
ration published three years afterwards, avowed that they
proceeded upon the full knowledge, derived from what had
transpired in their mother country, of the character and
the pestilent princijiles of the Quakers. On a Fast Dav,
observed twenty years afterward, in the desolation of King
Philip's War, one of the preachers ascribed the calamities
of the country as a judgment of God on it for not having
dealt more sevei'ely and thoroughly with the Quakers.

The two women in the harbor were Ann Austin, de-
scribed as "stricken in years, and the mother of five chil-
dren," having left her family in England for her mission,
and Mary Fisher, " a maiden Friend." Though the recep-
tion of the latter in Boston was to be only inhospitable,
her previous sufferincrs in England had been piotracted and
very cruel. She had appeared there in 1G5'2, when about
thirty years of age, as a minister among the Frieiuls ; and,
for addressing a [lulilic meeting, had been ini|)risoned in
York Castle sixteen months. And again, for preaching
with another woman at the gate of Sydney College, in lt)53,
she and her companion were whipped " until the blood ran
down their bodies." After two more imprisonments for

THE INTUDSION OF THE QUAKERS. 435

speaking in " steeple-houses," Mary Fisher had " a religious
call " to go to Barbadoes. A letter from her, written from
tiiat place, to George Fox, addressed " My Dear Father,"
and expressing her zeal for her work, is extant. As she
never returned here after her banishment, reference may
be made to her interesting subsequent career. Being
carried from here to Barbadoes, after a visit to England
in 1657, and another in the next year to Barbadoes, she
started in 1660 for her mission, on a [lerilous and difficult
journey to the Orient. She found her way to Adrianojile,
where she gave her testimony, through an interpreter, to
the " Grand Tnrk," the Sultan Mahomet IV. She was
civilly treated by him, the assumption being that she was
insane, and therefore, as the Turks believed, ins[)ircd. She
parried with skill the test question. What she thought
of Mahomet? by replying that she did not know him.
Returning safely to England, she labored long and zealously
in her Society, and was twice married, coming with lier
second husband to America. She is mentioned as living in
Charleston, S. C, in 1G97, then a widow.'

Ann Austin was imprisoned "in a filthy gaol" in London
in 1G59, and died tiicre of tiie terrible plague in 1665.

As Governor Endicott was absent on the arrival of the
vessel, Lieutenant-Governor Bellingham sent an officer
on board, who brought the women with their effects on
shore to the prison. About a hundred books or tracts
were taken from them, which were burned by order in the
market-place. In conformity with the dismal superstition
of the time in all Christendom that such persons as the
prisoners might be bewitched, some women were sent to
the jail on the revolting errand to follow the usual English
judicial process in searching their bodies for evidence that
the Evil One statedly drew nutriment from them. A wart
or a mole was a perilous disfigurement in those times.
Happily no such blemish was found.

' Bowdcn's Society of Friends in America, L 31.

436 THE PUKITAN AGE.

I have before mo a inanuscrifit of Rome hundred and
fifty j)a;^es, conlainiiij^ a transcript made by me many }X'ars
aj:;o irom a collection of loose papers gatlieri_d into a vol-
ume, now anionic the archives in the State House, of IcL'al
jiroceedings against the Quakers. The Quaker historians
do not seem to have had knowledge of tliesc papers. Tiiey
su[)]ily many interesting facts, of which I shall make use.
The fust of them gives us the action of the Council, which
had authority when the General Court was not in session,
taken immediately on the known presence of the Quakers ;
as follows : —

11th July, 165G. Voted by the Council. Present, the Govcmor,
Deputy-Governor, Sam'l Symouds, C'apt. Gookin, Major Willard,
Major Atherton.

Wliereas there are several laws long since made and published
in this Jurisdiction, bearing testimony against heretics and erro-
neous persons, yet notwithstanding, Simon Kempthorne of Cburles-
town, Master of the Ship Swallow of Boston, knowingly hath
brou;,'lit into this Jurisdiction from the Island of Barbadoes two
wninen, who name themselves Mary Fisher, and Anne, the wife
of one Austin : being of that sort of people commonly known by
the name of Clunkers, who, U[)on examination, are found not only
to be trans::;ressors of the former laws, but do hold manv very
dangerous, heretical, and blasphemous opinions, and thev also
acknowledcjed they came hither purposely to propaijate their said
errors an<l heresies, brintjinL; with them and spreadin;;; here sundry
books wherein are conUiined many most corrupt, pernicious, heret-
ical, blasphemous doitrines, contrary to the truth of the Gospel
professed amon^ us: The Council, therefore, tendering the pres-
ervation of the j)eace and truth enjoyed and profissed in this
country amongst the Churches of Christ, do hereby order, 1. That
all such corrupt books as shall be found upon search to be brought
in and spread by the forenamcd persons, be forthwith burnt and
destroyed l)y the common executioner. '2 That tiie said" Mary
and Anne be kept in close jirison, and none achnitted to commn-
niiation with them without leave from the Governor, or Deputy-
Governor, or any two Magistrates, to prevent the spreading of

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 437

their corrupt opinions, until such time as they be delivered by the
authorities aboard some vessel to be transported out of the coun-
try. 3. That the said Simon Kempthorne is enjoined speedily
and directly to transport or cause to be transported the said
persons from hence into Barbadoes from whence they came, de-
fraying all the charges of their imprisonment: and for the effectual
performance whereof he is to give Security to the Secretary in a
bond of £100 Sterling, and upon his refusal to give such security
he is to be committed to prison till he do it-

E. R., Secretary.

The Council secin to have assumed that Kempthorne
knew the offensive character of his two passengers.

Tlie women were not scourpred. As tliey " were not free
in mind" to work for tlic jailer for their subsistence, nor
allowed to buy food with their own money, they were in
danger of famishing. When brouglit before the magis-
trates' Court, their •' Thee and Tliou " was held to be sufTi-
cient proof of who and wliat tliey were, and they were
replied to with rude and harsh words. Then at once the
authorities had to meet the first manifestation of what they
greatly dreaded as an "infection," — sympathy engaged for
the sufferers on the part of citizens and church members.
None of tliis was shown by the jailer, who was both of
these. But so also was a worthy man, Nicholas Upsliall,
sixtv years of age, with a family, respected in the com-
munity. He made a protest, at first privately, and after-
ward publiclv, for wliich he was rebuked. He did more;
for he gave the jailer five shillings a week for being allowed
to give food to the prisoners. Upshall is worthily remem-
bered by the Friends as being the first in a number steadily
increasing, to the great annoyance of the authorities, of
those among the inhabitants who showed tins sympathy.*

' His wife, however, did not accord with him. In the State Archives,
as .iddressed to the Court of Assistants, in 1658, is "The humble petition of
Dorotliy Upshall. Humbly sheweth, That whereas your petitioner's husband,
in October, 1656, did not only unadvisedly, but sinfully, reproach the honored

438 THE PDRITAN AGE.

To tlicm, citlipr as boldly questioning and rebukinfr, or
as (iiiiilly discountcuuneing the cruel treatment of the
Quakers, as we shall see farther on, and not, as has been
assumed, to the interfxtsition of the King, Charles II., is to
be ascribed the curb put u|)oii the will of the magistrates,
'riie women were in ]ii'ison live weeks before the sailing of
tiieir ship. But one week before their release another
vessel had brought eight more Quakers, four men and four
women, wlio were imprisoned in like manner for eleven
weeks by those wIkhu Eishoji calls " the refuse of man-
kind,"— a comjilimentary description of the Puritans. For
two successive days the magistrates and Elder Norton held
conferences with these prisoners, the discussion bearing
principally on the point, Whether the Scriptures are the
only rule and guide of life, or subordinate to the quick-
cuings of the Inner Light? N(jrton seems to have been
more docile than were the magistrates under the Quakers'
pleading. The captain of the vessel was put under bonds
to remove them and to bring no more. One Richard
Smitli, of Long Island, a fellow-passenger, rcjiuted a
" Proselite," venturing to speak in the meeting-liousc after
service, was imprisoned and sent home by water. A fine
was imposed upon ship-masters who should bring any
known to be Quakers. They were released from this
fine on showing that they had erred in ignorance.

On the meeting of the General Court, (tot. 14, 10)56, was
enacted the fir.st law against the intruders.' Parts of this
must be verbally quoted, if only that its epithets may serve
as the emi)ers of the fire.

mapistratrs, qikI sj'akf^ n^ainst tlint wln>lo<?nme l.iw to prevent the coming in
nmonpst the pood |)co]ile of tliis Innd NUeli ns are notalile ^.lecei^■e^^, " etc.
She expresses Iier own warm sntisfjietinn " with the truth niul orviinnnces hero
profest, so denr nml precious to Iter soul," etc. She is distressed in the sup-
port of lier fnniilv, and in providing for the support of her Inisltnnd, Kinislied
nnd fined £20. The mngistrntes n/jrce th.nt the renuiinder of the fine not yet
paid, shnll be setth'd on the petitioner, rot to go for the use of her husband.
' Records, vol. iv, pt. i. pp. 277, 27S

THE INTRUSION OP THE QUAKERS. 439

" Whereas there is a cursed sect of haereticks lately risen up
in the world, which are tommonl\' called t^iuakers, who take uppon
them to be immediately sent of God, and infallilily assisted by the
spirit to speake and write blasphemouth opinions, desj)isinf; gov-
ernment and the oi'der of God in church and commonwealth,
speaking evill of dignities, rcproacliing and reviling magistrates
and ministers, seeking to turne tlie people from the faith and gaiiie
proselites to theire pernicious waies, this Court, taking into serioiis
consideration the premises, and to prevent the like mischiefe as
by theire meanes is wrought in our native land, dotli iieereby order,
and bv tlie authoritie of this Court be it ordered and enacted,
tliat anv commander of a vessel that shall bring into this juris-
diction any knowne Quaker or Quakers, or any other blasphe-
mous haereticks as aforesaid, shall i>ay the tine of £100, except it
appeare that he wanted true knowledge or information of theire
being such ; and in that case, he hath libertie to cleare himself by
liis oath, when suflicient proofe to the contrary is wanting;" for
default of payment or si-curity to be imprisoned ; then to give
bonds to carry them to the place whence he brought them.

"Anv (Quaker coming into this jurisdiction shall be forthwith
committed to the house of correction, aiul at their entrance to be
severely whipt, and liv the master thereof to lie kept constantly to
worke, and none suffered to converse or speak with them during
the time of their imprisonment, which shall be no longer than
necessitie requireth. . . . And further, it is ordired, if any person
shall knowingly import into any hartor of this jurisdiction any
(Quakers' bookes or writings concerning their divilish opinions,
shall [lav for every sucli booke or writting, being legally prooved
against liim or them, the somme of five pounds ; and whosoever
shall ili^perse or conceale any such booke or writing, and it be
found with him or her, in his or her house, and shall not immedi-
ately deliyer in the same to the next m.agistrate, shall forfeit and
pay five pounds. Any person proved to have the haereti<-al opin-
ions of the said Quakers, or their books or jiapers, shall be fined
fortv shillings ; for the second ofTence four [lounds ; for still
offending, to be imprisoned till banished. Lastly, it is heereby
ordered, that what fierson or persons soever shall revile the otfice
or person of magistrates or ministers, as is usuall with the Quakers,

440 TIJE PURITAN AGE.

BUili person or pprsons shalbe severely whipt, or pay the soinme
of five [lounda. 'J'liis order was published 21 : 8 m. .00, in severall
places of Boston, by beate of drumme."

Tlic next order to this in tlie Court Book, is one piving
to tlie President and Fellows of Harvard College auttior-
ity to punish the niisdenieanois of the youth by fine, or by
whippinp in the liall.

As the drummer passed the house of Upshall proclaim-
ing this law, he uttered a bold protest af^ainst it, for
which, as previously mentioned, he was fined, im[irisoned,
and banislied. ,

The conditions to which prisoners, like the Quakers,
were subjected, may be inferred from the fullnwinc [to-
visions. A few months before the first comincr of Quakers
the Court had ordered that the selectmen of each town
should provide for the jirison or county house of correc-
tion a stock of hemp, fla.x, or other materials, tlie value of
the labor on which done by the prisoners should accrue
to the use of the master. Out of this he was " to allow
onlv so mucli as will keepe the delinquent with necessary
bread and water, or other meane food, as four pence out
of the shilling earned by his or her labour." On coniinfj
into tlie prison the delinquent was to receive ten stripes,
and then to be emfiloyed by a daily stint. " If he or she be
stoborne, disorderly, or idle," tlie master should '> abridpe
them of part of their usual! food, or pive them meet cor-
rection." The Quakers refused to work for the benefit
of the jailer while receiving such jioor commons.'

Next appeared Ann Tbirden, coming from Knsrland, as
she said, to collect (lu(>s of lier husband, ^\'itll her was
Mary Dyer, " passing thnuitrh to Rhode Island," whither
she jiad pone from Jloslon in the Antinomian times. Win-
tbrop di^scribed her then as " a very proper and fair woman,
much infected with Mrs. Ilutcliinson's errours, and very

' Rccoriis, iii. 399.

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 441

censorious and troublesome, she being of a very proud
spirit, and much addicted to revelations." ^ Slie had be-
come an object of dread in Boston, because of the fright
connected with a misfortune in maternity. She is yet to
appear tragically in this record. Both these women were
imprisoned and sent away. August 29, Mary Clark, leav-
ing her family in England, had come iicre, as she said,
with " a message from the Lord." She fared all the worse
for that claim, receiving twenty stri[)es and being sent off.
Sept. 21, 1G57, Christopher Holder and John Copcland
"bore testimony in Salem Church," after the service, and
received violent personal treatment. Being sent to Boston
prison, they cacli suffered thirty stripes, and were confined
nine weeks, nearly famished and witliout fire in wintry
weatlier. A sympathizer in the meeting, Sam Sliattuck,
was imprisoned in Boston, whifiped, and lianished. Lau-
rence and Cassandra Southwick, of Salem, '• an agi'd,
grave couple," church memiiers, for " entertaining two
strangers," and the wife for approving "an lieretical
paper," were imfirisoned. Rirhard Dowdiioy, coming from
England, was arrested at Dedham, taken to Boston, re-
ceived thirty stripes, was deprived of his tracts, and sent
off with four otJiers, threatened with loss of ears, after the
English fashion, if they returned.

Sympathy for the sufferers was rapidly strengthened at
Salem, dividing the flork in the meeting-house, so that the
Friends began to hold worship of their own in tlie woods
and at private h(juses. They were followed up tliere by
the magistrate Ilathorne, and by the law of 1G4G were
fined five shillings a week eacli for absence from the as-
sembly. Bishop informs his readers that Queen Elizabeth
had been content with exacting only twelve pence a week
for tliis offence. Many of these Salem Friends were impris-
oned in Boston, and confined when they were most needed
at home for farm labors, while distraint was laid upon

' Winthrop, i. 251. .

442 TUE PURITAN AGE.

tlioir property for payment lA fines. Even the purpose
was entertained by tlie Court in May, 1659, of selling one
(ir more for trans[iortation to Virfrinia or Uarbadoes ; but
it faiird of execution, for no mariner would take them.
'• Honed (iaidner, mother of many cliildreu," came witli
a nursing babe from Newport to Weymoutli, and with her
servant-girl was im|)risoned in Boston, receiving ten lashes.
Sarah Gibbens and Dorothy Waiigh, April 13, 16.08, "spoke
in Boston meeting." They were imprisoned, famished, and
wlii[)ped. Thomas Harris, coming from Barbadoes through
Rhode Island, " spoke in Boston Meeting," denouncing
Divine judgments. He was imprisoned, whijified, and
" would have starved," had he not been fed tbrouL'h the
window at night by sym[iathizers. William Brend and
William Lcddra, '• moved of the Lord," after visiting Sa-
lem, '• had a conference with a priest at Newbury," and
with others were sent to Boston prison and wliijiped. The
peojjle protested so strongly against the unmerciful casti-
cation of Brend, that the jailer was saved from process
only liy tlie intervention of Elder Norton. The Boston
Tliursday Lecture furnished a favorite opportunity for the
liarangucs of the Friends, men and women, who insisted
upon appearing there, though jirotesting that thev could
not join in the worship. The magistrates became exas-
[lerated beyond measure, and were at their wits' end bv
being so defied. Their law had provided for a riddance
from their tormentors only for such as came in by sea.
But when they flocked in from Riiode Island, as " a back
door," no one was chargeable for removing them. We
have to look to the original Quaker tracts for details, facts,
and speeclies not to be fnund in the historic comjiends, to
ap[irclii'nd fully the giiadings, insults, extravagances, and
denunciatidus liy which nuigistrates, ministers, and con-
gregations were infuriated against the intruders. As was
iiMuurked before, the early Quakers, citlier from choice or
from circumstances, were known and made odious by their

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 443

crotchets and oddities. Undoubtedly these stood in the
way of many who observed their fantastic ways, and pre-
vented even a patient, much more a recc]itive, s]jirit in
listening to tlie noble lessons, the larg'c and edifying truths
from Quaker lips, which they had themselves reached. The
Puritans looked with utter contempt upon the "theology"
of the Quakers, and did not think it worth listening to.
Associating theology, as the Puritans did, with profound
linguistic learning in the rigid literalism of the Scrijitures,
they were confronted by those whom they most unjustly
regarded as only ranters and scoffers for claiming a spir-
itual illumination as a key to opening those Scriptures.
The two methods of dealing with the Book were radically
opposite and irreconcilable. The Quakers were never
permitted, as the Antinomians and Baptists had been, to
have anything like a free hearing or debate, at church
meetings, in a synod, or in the Court. This was with-
held from them for two reasons. First, those otiier her-
etics were residents, citizens, and church members, other-
wise in good standing, wliile the Quakers were strangers,
" roaming vagrants." And again, tlie illiteracy, the oU'en-
aive language and behavior of the Quakers made them
personallv so odious, and the wild notions " broached " by
tiicm were so exasperating, as to make the Puritans un-
willing to put themselves on tlie level of a discussion.
Tiie assertion of the Quakers that their journeys, errands,
and messages were tissigned to them by private, direct
personal inspirations from God, was to the Puritans sim-
ply blasphemous. They themselves could kn(j\v "(he mind
of God" only through a channel common to them and
to all others, — the Bible. But no single grievance fills
80 large a place in the altercations of both parties as
the importance assigned to the " Hat." The Quakers in
their tracts earnestly and often peevishly com[ilain that
the keeping on of (heir hats in courts and meeting-
houses, before they had even opened their lips, or their

444 THE PURITAN AGK.

ofiiiiiotis were really kiiowo, was enough to insure for
thciii c'oudumnation and alju.so. It was so, and it was
lic'cuuse they chose to have it so. The hat seemed to
sij^uify defiance and contemjit, as if it said, " I am as
good as you are; 1 owe you no respect or deference, and
I will provf' this by iiisultiutr you." Tlie habit and tlic
attitude were taken as a press breach of manners, or pro-
tes(iucness of costume; it would in our time mark a fool,
a crank, or an insane person. As to the "testimonies"
borne by the Quakers in meeting-houses, courts, and other
places, taking only their own reports of them, we can well
understand how the truth and fresh inspiration of some of
the utterances would pass for nothing because of the rant,
the bitterness, the scorn, the fierce and withering denun-
ciations connected with them. The most offensive epithet
to be used for an elder or minister was that of '• priest."
Because the Puritan worship proceeded by form and rou-
tine, it was pronounced "lifeless, dead, Pharisaical, and
without power to instruct or edify.'" The "ordinances,"
the most sacred rites of the Puritans, — bajitism and the
Lord's Supper, — were spiritualized by the Quakers into
disuse. Wandering through lonely woods, with his mus-
ings, anil reaching stopping-points for mission-work in his
Heaven-guided journeys, the Quaker would appear on the
scene, with a fervor and elation of spirit, to give forth his
repressed exaltation.

What utterances would come from the mouths of those
whose pens wrote matter like tli(> following, may be readily
infei'rrd fiom a tract, whose title is here given, with ex-
tracts fiom it, fi'om a copy which I transcribed from the
original in the British Museum:' —

" N. England's Ensigne : It being tlio Account of C'niolty, the
Professors' Pride, and the Articles of their I-aitli, Signified in
Characters written in ISlood, wickedly Ix'gun, barbarously con-

' Collection markrd — _ —
G.

THE INTBDSION OP THE QUAKERS. 445

tinued, and inhumanly finished (so far as they have gone) by the
present power of darkness possest in the Priests and Rulers in
N. England, with the Dutch also inhabiting the same land. In
a bloody and cruel birth which' the Husband to the Whore of
Babylon hath brought forth by ravishing and torturing the seed
of the Virgin of Israel. Happy are they who are blest out of the
hands of Hypocrites, by whom my Saviour suffered. This being
an account of the sufferings sustained by us in N. England (with
the Dutch), the most part of it in these last two ycers, 1GJ7-68.
With a letter to John Indicot and John Norton, Governor and
Chief Priest of Boston, and another to the Town of Boston. Also,
the several late conditions of a friend upon Road Island before,
in, and after distraction ; with some Quaeries unto all sorts of
People, who want that which we have. Written at sea by us
whom the Wicked in scorn call (.Quakers, in the 'id month of the
year Ifi.V.)." London, IGJ'J.

i'lic Preface (iescrihes the people of New P^ngland as
" Cruel English Jowcs, the most vainest and beastliest
place of all Bruits, the most publicly profane, and the
most covertly corrupt," etc. The treatment of the writer
up to the date already reached is related. The suffer-
ings of Robert Hodgstono, from tlie Dutch at Hempstead,
L. J., arc descriljcd. He was beaten with a pilclicd rope,
one hundred blows, and chained to work with a wheel-
barrow in a hot sun. " Yet his mouth was opened to such
as came about him." Wc may be sure of that. " l^th of
Gth month, 1657, two of us. Holder and Copeland, were
moved of the Lord to go to Martin's Vineyard. After the
I^riest, Thomas Maho [Mayhcw], had done his speecli, one
of us unspakc a few words." They were thrust out, and
tiic ne.\t day were sent off and landed by an Indian at
Sandwicli, causing great excitement. A warrant was is-
sued against them as " extravagant persons." (Jopelnnd had
a dispute with Stone, "the Priest of Hartford." Wc then
have the following description of a New England cluirch
member, which doubtless had its counterpart in life :

446 THE PURITAN AGE.

" A man that hath a covetous and deceitful rotten heart, lying
lips, which uhound among them, and a smooth, fawning, flattering
tongue, and short hair, anil a deadly enmity against those that
are called (Quakers, and otiiers that oppose their wayes, — such a
hypoerite is a fit man to be a member of any New-England Church.
And touching the matter and manner of their worship, it is most
like the rigid Presbyters, so called, but a little differing from the
late IJishops, onely they use not their blind service and surp-tloaths.
J. House and II. Norton were moved to go tu their great meeting-
bouse at IJoston upon one of their Lector dayes, where we found
.John Norton, their teacher, set up, who. like a babling Pharisee,
run over a vain repetition near an hour long (liki- an imijudent
smooth-faced harlot who was telling her Paramoors a long fair
story of her husband's kindness, while nothing but wantonness
and wickedness is in her heart) ; when his Glass was out he begun
his sermon, wherein, amongst manv lifeless expressions, he spake
mucli of the danger of these wlm are called (Quakers : some of his
hearers gaped on him as if the}' expected honey should have
dropped from his lips; and amongst other of his vain conceits he
uttered this (whereby he plainly discovered the blindness and rot-
tenness of his heart), that the .Justice of God is the Armor of the
Devil, the which, if true, then is the Devil sometimes covered with
Justice, which is more than ever I heard any of his servants say
in his behalf before," etc.

"On the 13th of 2d month. 1058, S. Gibbens and D. "Waugh
[two women] spoke at Lecture."

I do not know wliethcr tlicsc Quakers spoke tlie words,
or wlictlier they are the report of Bishoji, in the terse
English sentence, — "They heard the (Jrnve uttering her
voice, and Deatli feeding Death, through your painted
Sepulclire, Jolin Norton." '

'I'he ciiTulation of copies of Norton's hook, wliicli is re-
ferred to by lii."^ name in tJic Records, as miglit be expected,
inflamed to bitterness tlie resentment of the Court.

Thomas Newhouse pave his " testimony " in Salem meet-
ing, " where, having sptiken- to them what was with him,

' Bishop, y. 72.

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 447

and having two Glass Bottles in his Hands, dashed (hem to
pieces, saying to this effect. That so they should be dush'd
in Pieces." ' Newhouse was \vlii])|ied.

But the " infection " spread rapidly and became more
virulent. The means taken to suppress it gave it vigor.
Many of the ministers preaching sharply against Quaker-
ism, misrc[)resenting and caricaturing its real jirinciplcs,
excited curiosity and interest in it, and won for it disci-
ples in their own flocks. Some keenly discerning persons,
wearied or repelled by the reiteration of literalisms and
Calvinistic dogmas, began to sec behind the fantastic and
grotesque obtrusions of Quakerism tlic vital and elevating
principles of higher truth. These conse(|uences caused not
only alarm, but passionate indignation anKnig the magis-
trates and deputies, who as church members could alone
make and execute the laws. Not all of these, however,
were of the same mind.

The Cicneral Court". Oct. 14, 1657, tried to strengthen its
legislation liy the following provisions. A fine of X 1 00
was imposed, with imprisonment till pai(l,nn every one wlio
should bring into tlie jurisdiction "a known Quaker, or
other blasplicmous haeretick." Forty shillings for each
hour of entertainment of any such, by an inhabitant, with
imprisonment till paid, was the penalty for that offence.
A male Quaker returning liere after having been once
dealt with, should have one ear cut off, and be kept at work
in the house of correction till he could lie sent away at his
own charges, and for again returning, should lose the other
ear. etc. "■ Every woman Quaker so returning shall be
whipt and kejit at work in the house of correction till re-
moved at her own charge ;" and so for repetition. Every
Quaker, " he or she," returning still a third time, should
liave the tongue bored through with a hot iron, and be
again sent off. The same treatment was now to be visited
upon Quakers arising among ourselves as upon strangers.^

' Bisliop, p. 431. ^ Records, vol. iv. pt. i. p. .308.

448 THE POrUTAN AGE.

Under this law, Sept. 16, 1G58, three men, Christopher
Holder, John Copelaiid, and John Rouse, had each one ear
cut liy the hunii:nian ; ' hut no tongue was bored. The
only instance of branding in New England — so often prac-
tised in England — was that of IJuniphrey Noiton, in New
Haven, who had the letter "H" burned in hi.s hand for
" lleresie."

Still another law pas.scd by the Court. Jlay, 1C58, pro-
vided that "all persons who by sj)eaking, writing, or by
meeting on the Lord's day, or any other time, to strengthen
themselves or seduce others to their diabolicall doctrine,"
for attending such meeting shall be fined each time ten
shillings; for speaking at such meeting, five pounds each
time, with whipping and work in the house of correction,
till giving pledge with bonds " not any more to vent their
hatefull error.s, nor use their sinfull practizes," or else de-
[lart the jurisdiction at their own eliarges, subject, if return-
ing, to the former laws against strangers.*

But even the penalties carried up by legislation to this
point, while not availing against the subjects of them, fell
short of what some — happily it soon proved to be only a
minority in the Puritan State — desired and were ready to
approve. "All that a man hath will he give for his life,"
is a Scripture sentence, though sjioken by Satan. Some
of the peo[ilc wished to put it to trial in the case of the
Quakers, .nnd they had occasion to learn tliat the sentence
came from "the great liar." Among the papers in the
State Archives is a document which 1 have seen nowhere
else, indorsed, "Boston Petition, entered freely with the
Magistrates, October, IG.'jR, wliich is jiast." It is addressed
"To the Honored deneral Co)irt now assembled at Boston,"
and bears the signatures of twcnty-li\ e [iromincnt citizens.

' Tlio imitllatioii was done by rlipiMiif; tlic rim of tlu' c.ir. One of the
tliree eminent sniriTora bv tliis process in Kiiglnnil, before naTned, by a sccoml
senfpiiee Imd tlii' operation repeated \ipon him.

^ Records, vul. iv. pt. i. p. 321.

THE INTKUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 449

The burden of it is to ask for even severer laws against
the Quakers. It begins by acknowledging the pious care
and fidelity of those " wiio have sat at tlie lielm," and by
God's blessing have secured the State in civil and religious
interests, though Satan has never given over his wiles and
plottings against tliem. Yet notwithstanding all their re-
pressive and punitive measures against " the prodigious
insolency of the Quakers," the petitioners are moved to
offer some propositions for their serious consideration :
(1) The malignity of the Quakers against the establishment
of civil government shows them to be " professed enemies
of the Christian Magistrate and seducers of the people," —
they break the fifth commandment ; (2) " Under pretence of
new light they subvert the very body of religion, — denying
the Trinity, the person of Christ, the Scri|)tures as a rule
of life, the whole Church institution of the (!osprl, and
the ordinary means appointed for the cimversion and edi-
fication of souls ;" (3) Whether tiie increase and strength-
ening of their obduracy, jierversity, and malignity does not
give reason for apprehending a renewal of the spirit of
Muncer, or John of Leydcn, and justify, as in otlier com-
monwealths, a rule for self-defence against the incorrigible,
and require that the penalty of deatli be inflicted upon
those returning from banislimeiit, as well our own people
as strangers ?

The Court at once gave heed to the third o{ these propo-
sitions. Previously, liowever, — in a document found in
the same collection of [lajiers, but not in the Records, — it
gave order for issuing " A Manifesto," to hinder the spread
of tiie Quaker doctrines, dated Nov. 0, 1G58, when it ap-
peared after the passage of the law next to be given. This
Manifesto provides for a Declaration to be written liy Mr.
Norton, stating in review the efforts of the magistrates to
repress and punish the persistent lieresies and ill practices
of the Quakers, and the increasing miscliief of their activ-
ity. At the second session of the Court, Oct. 19, 1658,

29

450 THK PURITAN AGE.

Puritan lcf;;islation passed an onactment by which, in con-
Bcqucncc, throe men and one woman, all of uiisiillied life,
constant, heroic, resigned, triumphant even in spirit, yet
witli no declnmatory or unseemly hoastfuincss, were lianged
from a fjallows on Bost(jn Common. With shame and re-
pret, unrelieved and uurrlirvalilc, must tjic historian for
all time read, write, and comment on tliat melancholy
episode. All recognition of, all admiration for, some of
the noble qualities of our Puritans, ami all allowance for
the exigencies and straits of tlieir position, must jiause
at this point and refuse to justify or i)alliate. If it were
conceivable that one of those relentless magistrates could
as a shade confront the writer of the preceding sen-
tence, asking, " What could we have done else. — beset,
defied, blackguarded, and outraged as we were in our at-
tempted rescue of our jurisdiction from utter lawlessness
and wreck?" one could but answer, "Anything, ratlier
than what you did. Your gallows was only for crimi-
nals, not for those who in calm constancy of sjiirit were
following their consciences." The magistrate, however,
would rejoin that the Quakers were e.'iiecuted as crimi-
nals. This was in fact the plea ofTered in justification by
the Court to their own constituency and to tlic King, —
that these victims suffered, not as Quakers or heretics, but
for a defiance and contempt of law which would prostrate
civil government.

It is under the guidance of this plea, with all the patience
and candor that we can exercise, that we must follow the
course of the magistrates in making and executing this
fatal law. All that can be said for them is what was said
by themselves. It was enough to justify them in their own
eyes, but not enough for us. Happily a gleam of relief
jiresents itself to one who searches sliarply and penetrates
(o till' inner revealings of the thouglits and feelings work-
ing profoundly in many minds and licarts at the time, very
80011 to find avowal and strong assertion to the effect of

THE INTRUSTON OF THE QUAKERS. 451

interdicting any further like outrages of liumanit)'. The
fatal law, as we shall see, barely secured an enactment, by
a majority of one in the Court, and tlien only by being
modified by the introduction of a provision not found in
its original draft. It was resolutely opposed at every
stage. Very shrewdly, and with calculating policy, had
the sternest of the magistrates and ministiTs been prepar-
ing the way to having the proposed enactment recognized as
vitally necessary. It is not uiicandid to suppose that tJicy
had themselves prompted the petition just I'eferred to, ask-
ing them to enact severer laws, including tlic death pen-
alty. Their request also tliat an elaborate Declaration
should be prepared, stating and vindicating the grounds
and methods of their proceedings against their troublers
from their first appearance, shows tlieir nervous unrest
under a relenting and ojiposition which they well knew to
be working in the minds of many honmed members of
their community.

The plea of tlie magistrates being (hat henceforward they
■were to regard the Quakers as criminals, their character
as heretics was suliordinated to this view of them as (lie
agents of sedition and lawlessness, jdanning the ruin of the
commonwealth. Her(>tofore the magistrates had in every
case found that a sentence of banishment from tlnir juris-
diction was obeyed, if not respected. Even Roger Williams,
with all the humility of a petitioner, will not venture within
the limits from which he has been expelled, merely for a
point of embarkation for a voyage to England, without ask-
ing and receiving jjcrmission. But some of the Quakers
first and most defiantly Hung contempt upon the sentence
of banishment, though others of them had respected it and
complied with it. Like wilful chiliircn, or rather like
bold and stubborn asserters of tlieir immunity fiom the
restraints of the law, they insisted that the inspiration
which moved them, discharged them from obedience to
man's statutes. Under these perplexities the magistrates

4;VJ TiiE purtiTAN age.

asked what they were to do. Should they abdicate their
onices, pive jilace to the will and rule of these "criminals,"
or maUe yet (jiie more el'loit, in their sworn trust, to save
the State'." The new law is introduced by a fi'esh re-
cital of their grievances : —

" Wlicroas tlierc is a piTnitii)U.s sect, commonly called Quakers,
latelv risen, wliu, liv woril ami writing, have published and main-
tained many daingerous and horrid tennetts. and do take upon tliem
to chainge and alter the receiviMl laudaljle cu.stomes of our nation
in giving civill respect to a'qualls or reverence to Superiors, whose
actions tend to undermine the authority of civill government, as
also to destroy the order of the churches by denying all established
forms of worship, and by withdrawing from the orderly church as-
semblies, allowed and approved by all orthodox professors of the
truth, and instead thereof and in opposition thereunto, frequenting
private meetings of their owuc, insiiiuiiting themselves into the
minds of the simpler, or such as are lesse alfected to the order and
government in cliurch and commonwealth, whereby diverse of our
inhaliiiants have been infected and seduced, and notwithstanding
all former lawes made (upon experience of their arrogant, bold ob-
lrusi(jns to disseminate theirc princijih-s amongst us) pruhiliitting
their coming into this jurisdiction, tliev have not binn ileterred
from theire impetuous attempts to undermine our peace and hasten
our mine," —

' The followiiif; report of a conference at n dinner of tlic Council is found
on a paper in the State Archives. " March 9, lijjo- Major Hawthorne, at
dinner witli the Gov. and Magistrates at a Court of Assistant.';, said that at
Salt-'Hi tliere w.ts a woman, called Cassandra Soutbwick, tliat said she was
Rnater tlian Moses, for Moses had seen God but twice, and his back sides
[E.xoJus xxxiii. 23], and slje had seen liiin three times, and face to face, instan-
cinf^ the jiliccs ; i. e. her own house one time, and in such a swamp another
time, eti'. AKo he said that a woman of I.ynn, Ininp at the meeting when Wni.
Robinson was there, who pri'ssed much the seeking for the power within, she
aske<l liim how she could come to seek that |>ower within. He told her that
she must cast olT all attendances to ordinances, as public preaching, praying,
reading tin' Scriptures, and attending to times of God's worslii|i, and then wait
fur the ciirninuniraliiin of tliii power. And hi' added, that he that will .so do,
It will not be long that the Oevil will appear either more explicitly, oral least
imphcitly, to communicate hnnself."

THE INTBUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 453

The Court proceeds to order and enact that all such in-
truders shall be iui]irisoncd till brought before the next
Court of Assistants, and —

"then, having had a legal trial before a special jury, if convicted,
shall be seuteaced to banishment upon pain of death. And every
inhabitant taking up, publishing, and defending the horrid opin-
ions of the Quakers, or by stirring up mutiny, sedition, or rebellion
.against the government, or by taking u[) their absurd and destruc-
tive practices, namely, denying civil respect and reverence to aequalls
and superiors, withdrawing from our church assemblies, and instead
thereof frequenting private meetings of their own, approving
Quaker tenets or practices opposite to the orthodoxe received opin-
ions and practices of the godly, and endeavoring to disalTcct others,
and condemning the practice and proceedings of this Court against
the Quakers," etc., — ui)on legal conviction, shall be committed to
close prison for one month, and tiien, " unless they choose volun-
tarily to depart the jurisdiction " shall give bonds for their appear-
ance before another Court, and if not retracting, shall be banished
upon pain of death.'

No inhabitant but only strangers, regarded <as " vaga-
bonds" and "criminals," suffered the extreme penalty.
Up to this point the Court might claim to have followed
English precedent and ]iractiee in dealing with the Qua-
kers. Hut though the Quaker historians give us the names
of near twoscore persons of their sect, with the circum-
stances, who died in English [jrisons and dungeons from
abuse, privations, and cruelty, no one was capitally pun-
ished there.

Reference has been made to a gleam of light shining u[)on
this proceeding. Deacon John Wisvvall, one of the de[iu-
tics from Dorchester in the Court, was strongly opposed to
the intended enactment. He was ill at the time, and being
unable to attend, had had the j)romise of another deputy
that he should have warning if liis presence was needed.
But as the dissenting de|)uties thought they could vote down

' liecorJs, vol. iv. pt. i. [>[> 34Ci-347.

454 THE fUUlTAN AGE.

the law, liu was nut sent for. After the magistrates had
passed the law, it came to tlie deputies. 'I'he speaker, Mr.
Kiehard Russell, and eleven others were in the negative,
while thirteen were in the aflirniative. When Deacon W'is-
wall heard the result he was sorely trouljled, saying he
would have crept on his hands and knees to have prevented
it. The two Boston deputies, Hutchinson and Clark, en-
tered tlieir protests. As the law first passed, it was with-
out provision foi' a trial by jury. Tlie twelve dissentients
thriMtening to withstand the law as in this respect re-
[lugnant to the laws of England, the magistrates, fearing
a complete break-down, consented to insert it. Yet the
provision amounted to but little, as the jury would have
to decide merely upon the fact of the accused being a
Quaker.

There is further evidence of the nervous anxiety of the
magistrates to hold to the point reached, and to keep the
])euple who were on their side resolute and watchful.

The Quaker historians follow the narration of the [iro-
ccedings against the Quakers from Massachusetts, where
they began, into the other New England Colonies, and into
the Piovince of New York, then under Dutch rule. It
would be aside from our limits, as concerned oidy with the
affairs of the Biblical commonwealth of the Bay Colony, to
make any reference to these extended firoceedings, were it
not for the fact that Massachusetts did so much toward
instigating them. Under the title of the " United Colonies
of New England," Massachusetts, Plymouth, New Haven,
and C'onneetieut had enteicd into a confederacy. The first
suggestion for some sueii union liad come fi'om Massa-
chusetts, in June, lt>;38; it was not efTected, however, until
May, 1G43. In hei- relations with her sister New England
Colonies, Massachuactts too often, and generally, allowed
herself to assume a domiinmt and dictatorial spirit. Two
reasons may liavc prompted this course : First, there was
a wei'dit and iiositiveness of character in her leadinir men.

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 455

helped by superiority in wealth and means, which seemed
to justify her pre-eminence and to make it natural for the
other Colonies to recognize it ; Second, Massachusetts very
soon developed a policy in her affairs which clearly dehned
to herself and others what she was aiming for in a strongly
grounded system of government, with the method and afi-
pliances requisite to secure it, while the other Colonies
were only feeling their way. Massachusetts readily affili-
ated with Plymouth, though occasionally moved to interfere
with suggestions and advice, and to administer reproofs
for la.\ity in administration. The confederacy was to be
represented hv two connuissioners, chosen by the General
Courts of each of the four Colonies, meeting successively
iu each of tiieni. The articles recognize their common ends,
— "to advance the Kingdome of our Lord Jesus CJhrist,
and to enjoy the liberties of the Gospell in puritie with
peace." They refer to the " sad distractions in England "'
in the time of civil strife, and to their own exposure,
"dispersed upon the Sea Coasts and Rivers further than
was at first intended." They are " encom[)asscd witii i)C(>-
ple of scverall nations and strang languages, who have
formerly committed sondry ins(jlences and outrages upon
tiiem." They therefore "enter into a lirme perpetual
league of friendship and amytie, for ofTencc and defence,
mutuall advice and succour up(in all just occations both
for preserving and propagateing the truth and liberties
of the Gospell, and for their owne mutuall safety and
wellfare."

Massachusetts made iiaste to avail herself of this cov-
enant under her consternation at the intrusion of the
Quakers within her bounds. The commissioners met in
turn at Plymouth, Sc[.t. 4, ItJoO. A letter was there
read, sent by the governor and magistrates of Ma.ssaehu-
setts, who had just pas.sed their first enactment against the
Quakers. It opens witli a reference to their covenant "for
maintaining Religion in its puritie," and after rebuking

456 THE PURITAN AGE.

Plymouth for slackness in its encouragement " of a pious
Orthodox Minncstrey," it comes to the point thus: —

" lleer liatli arived amongst us ficverall persons proffessing them-
selves quakers, tilt Jiistruments to propagate the kingdome of
Sathan ; for the Securing of ourselves and our Nuighliours from
such pests, wee liave Imprisoned tliem till they bee despatched
away to the place from whence they came."

One of these was returned to Soutliampton, and Connec-
ticut is reminded to look after him. The commissioners
are asked to commend to each General Court rules " to
prevent the coming in amongst us from foraigne jilaces
such Notorious heretiques as (juakers. Ranters," etc. The
commissioners applaud the zeal of the Massacliusetts, and
make the desired recommendation to the Courts.

William Coddington, Governor of Rhode Island before
its charter and its incorporation with Providence Planta-
tions, had, in 1G48, petitioned the commissioners that his
Colony might be received into the confederacy. This was
refused, on the ground tliat the island should properly put
itself under the jurisdiction of Plymouth, and also because
it was full of confusion and distraction from dangerous
fiersons and culprits who used the place " as a City of
Refuge."

The next year, in September, IG')!, the commissioners,
meeting in Boston, addressed a letter to the government of
Rhode Island to this efTect: They had information that dur-
ing the summer sonie Quakers had been entertained at the
island who might [irove dangerous to their neiglibors, and
tiie islanders are (old of the advice triven by the commis-
sioners of tlic previous year "that all quakers, Rantors,
and such notorious lieretiques" coming from abroad, or
rising up here, slmuld be siMit olT. The islanders are
solicited to fiilldw Ibis advice, with an intimation tlmt if
it is neglected somctiung mav follow.

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 457

Among all the dismal documents for one's reading on
this subject, it is refreshing to come upon a jiaper which
by its naivete and humor gives momentary relief. Rhode
Island had become known as " a harborage for all sorts of
consciences." The uniformity sought for in Jlassachusetts
may be likened to the cording of sticks of wood, each
straight and all of equal length. One however would have
been puzzled to deal in that way with the material for con-
sciences in Rhode Island at that time, which presented
itself in the form of those roots of forest trees used for
making a " Virginia fence," witli gnarh'd and crooked
prongs in all directions. Benedict Arnold, President of
Rhode Island, and for liis associates, replied as follows to
Massachusetts Court, Oct. 13, IG.JT : —

" Please you to unilrr-iland, tliut tht-re hath come to our view a
letter subscribed bv the hoiioured ;;eritK>meii commihsiuiiers of tlio
united coloneys, the couteut^ whereof are a rei|uest eonrerniiig cer-
tayne peO|)le ealed quakers, come among us lately.

"Our desires are in all thinijs possilile to pursue after and
keepe favre and lovin^j rorrespondenee and entcreourse witli all
the C'ollonevs, aud with all our eouiitreymen in Xew England;
and to that purpose we have eiidcavonreil (and shall still endeav-
our) to answere the desires and riTpnst^ from all parts of tln' eoun-
trev coming unto us. in all just and eijuall returnes, to which end
the coloney have made seasonable provision to preserve a just and
ei]ual entercourse between the coloneys and us. by giving justice
to any that demand it among us, aud by returning such as make
escapes from you, or from the other coloneys, being such as fly
from the hands of justice, for matter-^ uf crime done or committed
amongst you. And as concerning these quakers (so-ealledj which
are now among us. we have no law amoiii; us whereby to punish
any for only declaring bv words iheir minds and understandings
concerninij the things and ways of God as to salvation and an
eternal condition. And we, moreover, finde, that in those places
where these people aforesaid in tliis coloney are most of all suf-
fered to declare themselves freely, and are oidy oposed by argu-
ments in discourse, there they least of all desire to come ; and we

458 TUE PURITAN AGE.

aro informed that tliey Lie;,'iii to loatli this place, for that they are
Dot oiijiusi'd hy the civill authorilv, liut witli ail |)ati(.'iice and meek-
nes are suffered to say over their preteudid revelations and admo-
nitious, nor are they like or able to t;aiu many here to their way ;
and surely we tlnd lliat they i]clij,'ht to he persecuted hy civill
powers, and when they are soe, they are like to gaine more adhe-
rents by the conseyte of their patient sufferings than by consent
to their pernicious sayings. And yet »e conceive that their doc-
trines tend to very absolute cutting downe and overturning rela-
tions and civill government among men, if generally received.
But as to the dammage that may in all likelyhood accrue to the
neighbour colloneys by their being here entertained, we conceive
it will not prove so dangerous (as else it might) in regard of the
course taken by you to send them away out of the countrey aa
they come among you. But, however, at present we judge itt
requisitt (and doe intend) to commend the consideration of their
extravagant outgoings unto the generall assemblv of our coloney
in JIarch next, where we hope there will be such order taken as
may, in all honest and coutieutious manner, prevent the bad effects
of their doctrines and endeavours ; and soe, in all courtious and
loving respects, and with desire of all honest and fayre commerce
with you and the rest of our honoured and beloved countrymen,
we rest. Yours in all loving respects to serve you." '

Roger Williams, whose vigorous dis]iutation with Qua-
kers at Ncvvport and Fruvidenco will be referred to on a
later page, gives this account of the impression which they
made upon him : —

"They are insufferably proud and contemptuous. I have,
therefore, publicly declared myself, that a due and moderate re-
straint and punishment of these incivilities, though pretending
cotiscienee, is so far from persecution, properly so called, that it is
a duly and command of (lod unto all mankiude, iirst iu P^auiilies,
and thence into all mankinde Societies."^

At the meeting of the commissioners in Boston, Septem-
ber, Itj.jb, the vvlujle eigiit, with an exce])tioii to be noticed,

' Hut^'liinson's Hist. Ma.'*-?., vul. i. apppiidix xi.
^ Gi'urgu Fox UigK J <JUt of hia Burrowes, [i. 200.

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 459

agreed to recommend to the several General Courts tlio
enactment of a measure which begins with a recitation :
'■ Whereas there is an accursed and perniti(jus sectt of heri-
tiques lately risen up in the world, who arc cummoniy
called Quakers, wlio du take upon them to bee immediately
sent of God and Infallably assisted," etc. Reference is
then made to the dangerous character of their tenets and
tlieir offensive practices, and to tlie laws already passed,
and the efforts made in vain to siip[)rcss tliein. The
measure proposed is tliat tlie Quakers be banished from
the several jurisdictions, under {)ain of severe corporal
punishment if they return, and on a second return be
put to death. John Wintlirop signs witli this condition,
'• Looking att the last as a query and not an Act : I suit-
scribe." '

It is grateful to assign to Jolin Wintlirop, .Ir., of (-on-
necticut, the esteem be deserves from us for liis pi'onouuccd
dissent from the extreme course of the Massaeliusetts au-
thorities toward tlie Quakers. He said he would go on
his knees before the magistrates to arrest their execu-
tion. Another friend they found whose interposition might
have been of service. Col. Sir Thomas Temple, wlio, in
1656, had purchased Nova Scotia from De la Tour, and
iiad been made Governor of the Province by Cromwell
and Charles II., proposed to the Court of Massachusetts, at
his own charge to trans[)ort the Quakers there, and to
maintain them for a time. The magistrates ajifiroved, liut
the deputies rejected the ])roposal. Reference is made
to the subject in a letter from Rev. John Davenport to
Winthrop, Jr. : —

" I am very sorry that the General Court at Boston did not
accept Colonel Temple's motion, wliicli hud bene a cleare w.iy,
and incomparably the best expedient for freeing all the Colonies
from the Quakers, who would have feared that kind of banishment
more than hanging; it being a real cutting them off from all
' Records of Commissioners ( 16i8), vol. ii.

4(i0 THE PURITAN AGE.

0[i[Hirtunitics and libortie of <]inn>j^ hurt in tlif Colonies by frain-
iuL,' prdselvtes, which would have bene more Ijittcr than death
to Ihrni." '

Neitlicr of tlio otlicr Coloiiios passed a capital law, as did
Massachusetts. In Plynioutli very severe proceedings were
adopted against the Quakers, with warm protests from
tliose who sympathized with them. Connecticut dealt with
tlie Quakers so leniently that they did not much annoy that
Colony. In New Haven much sliar[]er treatment was vis-
ited upon them, and of course their own words and acts
were mure defiant and truuijlesome. In the I'utcli Colony
of New York individuals and meetings of tliem were
treated with extreme violence. But these inferences are
outside of our subject.

A whole year passed after the enactment of the capital
law before it found the first two victims of its penalty. In
the mean while, liowevcr, seven persons, who had returned
after being banished with the sentence of death should
they be found again in the jurisdiction, were amcnalile to
the law, and were in pi'ison. How it would ha\e fared
with them had they not finally agreed to iio away, may
be doubtful. Nor mav we eliarge either of the seven
with a failure of lirnmess in eouiage or resolve in releas-
ing tiiemselves from the direful trial of their constancy.
Grateful, i-ather. should we be to them for finding in their
spiritual reckonings with themselves a prom]iting to go
ratlier than to stay. The first of the seven, subject to
condemnation, William lirend, who had been a grievous
trial to the magistrates, " fi'lt at liberty" to leave, and
Went to Rhode Island. Si.\ nuu'e. arraigned Mn\' 11, l(i.")9,
were (o lie on trial for life if not gone williin a month.
Three of them went to liarbadoes, two to Shelter Island,
and one to Rhode Island. Two others, young persons,
were intended to be sent to Harbadoes or Virginia, after

' 4 Mu.ss, Hist. Coll., vii. GOO.

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 461

a usage of tlie time, to be sold for their fines. But no
mariner would transport them, so they were left to take
care of themselves. If the magistrates encouraged tliem-
selves from these voluntary departures that tlie terror of
death on tlie gallows would henceforth he their security in
all cases, they were soon brought to realize their error.

William Ilobinson, a young English Friend, who, after
an imprisonment of six months in Virginia, had been
travelling here on a mission, hearing that the sentcjiced
persons just referred to had found release, felt " that the
Lord had laid the burden ujion him" to put the law to
trial in his own fierson. In company with an English
farmer, Marmaduke Stevenson, who "had been required
of the. Lord to leave my dear and loving wife and tender
children, under a secret message to my heart, ' I liav(;
ordained thee a prophet unto the nations,' " came to Bos-
ton. Two others put into prison witli tiieni were Mary
Pver — on her second venture to Boston — and Nicholas
Davis. Being brought to trial, they were sentenced, Sept.
14, lG5'.t, to banishment and to death if they did not
depart within two days. Davis left the jurisdiction, and
Mary Dver " felt liberty " this time to go home to Rhode
Island ; but soon after, " feeling a religious restraint," slie
came back to Boston," October 8. Robinson and ."^teven-
son, who, instead of leaving the jurisdiction, had l)een
on a missionary tour, holding meetings in it, again boldly
presenter! themselves in Boston, and were committed to
prison with the resolute and unquailing Mary Dyer, whose
spirit coidd find no rest while the atrocious death jienalty
hung over any of the Friends whom she knew to be the
"most innocent, pure, and harmless" of all who then
lived around her. The woful tragedy had reached its
fifth act. In the Court, Oct. 18, 1659,—

" Itt is ordered that Willi;im Robbinson, Martnaduke Stephen-
son, and Mary Dyer, Quakers, now iu prison for their rebeHion,
sedition, and presumptuous obtruding themselves upon us, not-

402 TOE PDRITAN AGE

witlistandinc; tlieire beirif; sentenced to banishment on paine of
death, as uiiilcrminers of tliis fjovernnnent, shall be brought before
this t'ourl for tliiir trialls, to suffer the poenalty of the lawe (the
just reward of their transgression) on the morrow."

Then, on the trial, they uckiiowledgeij iliemselves to be
the persons baniylied, — the point on whicli the jury was to
pass ; and, on a full hearing, Governor iMidicott, having
put the question to the Coui-t, with its afiproval, pro-
nounced against eaeli of tliem the si iitcnce for execution.
The Secretary was ordered to issue liis warrant to the
Marslial-tieneral, Michelson, to take from the prison the
three condemned, October '21, and —

"by the aide of Capt. James Oliver, with one huiidr'-d fouldiers.
taken out bv his order proportionably out of each eomjiany in
IJoston, i-ompleatly armed witii pike and musketteers. with pouder
and buUett. to lead them to the ]iluce of execution, and there see
them hang till thev be dead, and in theire going, being there, and
retourne, to see all thiugs be carried peaceably and orderly."

Such entertainment as, under their grim circumstances,
the prisoners would most relish was provided for them by
the Court, in sending to them the two elders, S\ mmes and
Norton, to "tender theire endeavors to make the prisoners
scncible of their ajiproaching danger by the sentence of
this Court, and prepare them for tlieire approaching ends."
They would even then have been allowed to dejiart had
they consented to do so. Thus the issue was fairly di'aun
between the magistrates, standing for their authority, and
the Quakers, standing for conscience. We know nothing
about the interview, but may be sure that the Quakers,
wholly indifferent to what the two " [iriests " might urge
u[K)n them, s)ioke their own minds with all plainness.
Though the Ciiuit bad sentenced .Mai-y Dyer to execution,
yet on the intercession of her son she was allowed forty-
eight hours in which to be taken from the jurisdiction,
to be closely imprisoned until removed, and " to be forth-

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 463

with executed if she returned. In the mean while slie was
to go with the other two condemned to the place of execu-
tion, and to stand upon the gallows with a rope about her
nock till her companions were executed."

There arc many tokens that the magistrates were aware
that they were about to suVimit their doings to a severe
ordeal in boldly defying the known disapy)roval and the
possilile opposition of a large number of the people, espe-
cially of the " uncovenanted." Captain Oliver was ordered
to place thirty-six of the soldiers about tiie town as senti-
nels, to preserve the peace while the execution was going
on. The selectmen of Boston were reipiired to press ton
or twelve able and faithful persons every night to watch
the town and the prison while tlir Court was sittinix.'

It was after the Thursday Lecture, Oct. '27, 1G5!', that
great multitudes of people gathered in the town to witness
the tragic spectacle. Tiie condemned took an aiTecting
leave of their fellow-prisoners, with embracing and joyful
outpourings of their constancy and assurance, and then
tliey were taken "like Innocent Lambs out of the Butch-
er's Cub to the Slaughter.'"- The procession went by the
" backway, lest the jieople should be affected tno niucb if
it went by the foreway." The drummers were placed close
to the prisoniTs to drown their v(dublo and triumphant
utterances. Mary Dyer walked betwoen the men, '' as to
a Wedding day," witli a serene and lifted spirit, and with
beaming features, joining her hands in theirs, though
jeered by some for this familiarity with two young men.
The victims bore thi'mselves with a seemly dignity. Mr.
Wilson, the Elder, casting aside all that became his pro-
fession and self-respect, addressing Robinson " in a light
Scofifing manner, said. Shall such Jacks as you come in
before Authority with your Hats on ? " Still the hat I — the
idol equally of both parties. The gallows seems to have
been a ladder rising above a branch of a tree, from which

' Fecorda, voL iv. pt. i. p. 384. ' Bishnp.

464 THE PURITAN AGE.

a rupc was attaclied tu tin; victims one by one, and then
the ladder was reiuuved. Tlii' bodies, witliout any cover-
ing, were put into a iiole in the earth, which was soon
covered wilh water. Some sympathizing friends liad
brought into tlie town Hnen for thi'ir shrouds. The bod-
ies were disinterred to aHow of tliis covering, but coffjii.s
were forbidden, and the Qual<ers murmured that they
" might be preyed upon by Bruit Creatures." A striking
token of the hmg surviving animosity to tlie first Quakers
in the town is furnislied in the Journal of Judge .'^ewall.
The Quakers had a meeting-house — the first one in the
town built of brick — and a burial-ground in Lirattle Street
in 1G94. A new one was substituted for tliis in 170S, in
Congress Street, then called Quaker Lane ; but their meet-
ings have been long discontinued. The Judge records,
under date of June 17, 10^5, —

" A Quaker or two goe to the Governour and ask leave to
enclose tlie tiround the Hanged Quakers are in under or near the
Callows, with Pales; Governour proposed it to the Council, who
unani^lnu^lv dcnvcd it as verv inconvenient ' for ]icrsons so dead
and buried in the place to have any Monument." ^

The Quaker historians note among the " providences "
marking the treatment of their friends, that as the crowd
returned from tlie execution of Robinson and Stevenson,
a [)ortion of tlie drawbridge — it crossed a creek in the
present North Street — broke down, injuring manv persons,
some fatally.

Mary Dyer liad been j)inioned and raised on the ladder.
When released, she said she was " not free " to come down,
and left it to the oflicials to relieve her. She addressed
papers to the magistrates, expressing her discontent at
receiving her life at their hand.s, and was carried from the

' Thi' ,Iiiclf;p, tlirmiRhnut his Joiinml, uses the word " inconvenient" in the
sense of iinsecinlv, improjier, incunbistent.
'' Sewnll l'u|ieis, i, S2.

THE INTRUSION OK THE QUAKERS. 465

jurisdiction by a body of horsemen. All the condemned,
with many other prisoners, addressed letters of remon-
strance, or testimonies to their faith and their principles,
from the jail to the magistrates. These papers are among
the State Archives. They are all of an earnest and becom-
ing tone and tenor, filled with the simplicities of piety and
the joys and fervors of full conviction.

The next measure of the tormented magistrates was to
spread upon tlieir rtcords, and to circulate — one by the
press, the other in writing, to the various towns — the two
preferred out of several papers that had been sent to them,
as "Declarations," rehearsing and justifying their proceed-
ings against the Quakers, including the capital law and
the two executions under it. Tlieir tone and pleading are
pitiful and painful to readers of our time. Notliing of
statement, argument, or vindication is fuund in them wliich
has not been already brought to the notice of the reader..
We are, however, bound in justice and candor, with what-
ever of reluctance and antipathy the effort may cost us,
to endeavor to read ourselves — we cannot do more — into
the intent and j)osition, the outlook, and the assumed obli-
gation of the i)leadcrs. The papers cover six solid quarto
pages. They begin by aflirming that so far from offering
an apology for their last ]iroceedings, they may rather look
for encouragement and commendation "from all prudent
and pious men." Therefore they address themselves —

" to men of weaker parts, who. out of pitty ami commiseration (a
commeiidabli; and Christian virtiii', yet easily aliased, and suscep-
tible of sinister and dangerous impressions), for want of full infor-
mation, may be lesse satisfied : and men of perverse principles
may take occasion hereby to calumniate us, and render us as
bloody persecutors ; to satisfy the one, and stop the mouths of the
other, wee thought it requisite to declare — "

Tiicn follows a review of tlie legislation of the last three
years. They had had warning of the pernicious and dan-

80

466 THE PURITAN AGE.

pcroua principles and practices of the Quakers, expressed
with all thr har.sh and .shiiddfrinfr ciiithets attached to tliem,
and identifying them villi the fanatics, "their predcces-
Bors in Munster." Siirfi'ssive efforts, at first not punitive,
then by gradation of jicnalties, had been tried in vain for
protection and security, till tliey had at last been driven
to pass a law of banishment on pain of death, "according
to the example of England, in their provission against
Jesuits." They had been compelled, after the failure —

" of grudual proceedings, to ofTcr the points, for our own just and
necessary defence, which these persons have violently and wilfully
rushed upon, and thereby have become /(7&ns de se."

Six grounds of their proceedings are then methodically
stated : 1. " The doctrine of this sect of people is destruc-
tive to fundamcntall trueths of religion," with particulars
and arguments in proof of the assertion. 2. " It is the
commandment of the blessed God that Christians should
obey magistrates." Thhs is abundantly traced through the
Scriptures. But the Quakers deny honor and reverence to
magistrates. "They show contcm|it against them in theire
very outward gestures and behavior, and (some of them at
least) spare not to belch out railing and cursing speeches.
Witness that odious, cursing letter of Humphrey Norton."
3. "The story of Solomon and Slumei (1 Kings ii.) is
a warrant for banishment. And iianishment is a lighter
infliction than confinement, as it leaves a man free for
and in all places but one." 4. This proposition elabo-
rates -rt-ith much force and precision the favorite jilea of the
magistrates of their exclusive territorial rights, as absolute
lirojirictiirs of this jurisdiction, precisely like those of a
hous('ki'r|i(r, with consequent power to exjicl interlopers
and uuwciconie strangers, f). Heads of families have a
right and duly to ])rotect themselves from all pernicious
comj)anionship and teachings, and to secure tlicm like
shccj) and lambs from destroying wolves. 6. The Lord

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 467

commanded his disciples if persecuted in one city to flee
to anotlier. Scripture is largely cited to show how all
" true saints" complied with this command. The Quakers
disobey it.

This Declaration is followed by two orders, — one for the
strengthening of the fence round the prison and house of
correction, to debar intercourse with the prisoners; the
other to arrest those who had lodged Quakers. The Court
also dealt with Christopher Holder, who, having been sent
to England without punishment, and having returned with-
out leave, had three days allowed him to go back in a ship
about sailing, or to be banished on pain of death. In No-
vember the Court awarded five hundred acres of land to
Mr. Norton in return for his having written, as requested,
his " tractate refuting the daingerous errors uf the Qua-
kers." It is entitled, " Tiie Heart of New p]ngland rent by
the blasphemies of the Present Generation." P'ines were
imposed on seven persons for entertaining Quakers, and
other like culprits were summoned. Edward Wharton,
who had " pilattcd " Quakers, was imprisoned, and received
twenty stripes. Ten more Quakers, men and women, " al>-
senting themselves from tlieire family relations, fcjr their
disorderly [iractices and vagabond life" were whipped.

.And now again appears Mary Hycr, for the fourth time
since her first banishment from Boston as an Antinomian.
Reprieved and sent off on the last 27th of October, she
returns and is brought Ijcforc the Court on the 30th
of the next May. .'^he had been carried away under
the burden of having failed of her full mission, and she
invited an opfiortunity to crown it. If that woman was
sound in her mind, — and the intensity and fervor of her
spirit, however it may have swayed and driven her, is
no proof that she was not, — she had a grand nobility of
nature, firm in nerve, with a calm earnestness of soul, and
the force which goes with a gentle and heroic constancy.
To the magistrates, however, she was a persistent and

4C8 TUE I'UIUTAN AGE.

pestilent tormentor, under whose teasing ag-gravations they
had been smarting for twenty years. ()i her wlierealjout
during the seven months sinee her reprieve we are in-
formed onlv iiupeiteeti} , in a letter from liijr husband,
William flyer, Si^eretary of Khode Island, dated Ports-
mouth, May 27, ItJtlO, and addressed to Governor T^ndicott.
'i'lie (iriginal is iu tlie State Arehives, and (jnc reading it
in these days will be moved to add to the tears which the
writer plainly let fall upon it. It is evident from it that
he was not in sympathy with thr views and the conduct of
his wife; and it would seem that, as she had abandoned her
home, lie had not seen her since her reprieve. Tliis pathetic
appeal from a deserted husband is as follows: —

Honored Sik, — It is do little grief of njind and sadness of
hart that I am necessitated Ui be so bould as to supplicate vour
honored self, with the Huub'" Assembly o£ vour Generall Court,
to extend your mercy and favor once agen to me and my children.
Little did I dream that I should ever had had occasion to petition
you ill a mattiT of this nature ; but so it is that throw the divine
providence and your benignity my soiiii obtained so much pity
and mercy att your hands as to enjoy the life of his mother.

Now my supplication to your Honors is to begg aflectionutcl v
the life of my deare wife. 'T is true I have not seene her above
this lialfe ycarc, and therefore cannot tell how in the frame of her
spirit slie was moved thus again to run so great a hazard to her-
self and perplexity to me and mine, ami all her friends and well-
wishers ; 80 it is, from Shelter Island al)out bv Pequid, Narra-
gansctl and to tlie town of I'rovideiu'c, she secretly and .'•pecdily
journicd, and as secretly from iIhmicc came to vour jurisdiction.
Unhappy journey may I say; and woe to tlial generation, save I,
that f^'ives occasion thus of grief and trouble to those that desires
to be (|iiiet, l>v hrl|iiiig one another (^as I may sav) to hazard tlieir
lives for I know not what end, or to what purpose. If Iut zealo
be so greate as thus to adventure, oh, let your favour !Uid pilve
surinounte itt. and save her life. Let not your forwonled com-
p.tssion be eonijuered by her inconsiderate madness ; and how
grealely will jour reuowuo bo spread, if by so coucjuering you

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 469

become victorious. AVluit shall I say more? I know you are all
sensible of my condition, and let the reflect be, and you will see
what the petition is and what will tjive me and mine peace. Oh,
let mercie's wings once more soar above justice' ballance, and then
whilst I live shall I exalt your goodness. But otherwise 'twill be
a languishing sorrowe, yea, soe great that I should gladly suffer
the blow att once much rather. I shall forbear to trouble your
Honors with words, neither am I in a capacitye to expatiate my-
selfe at |iresent. I only say this : your selves have been and are,
or may be, husbands to wife or wives, and so am I, yea, to one
most dearlye beloved. Oh, do not you deprive me of her ; but I
pray give her me out again, and I shall bee soe much obliged for-
ever, that I shall endeavor continually to utter my thanks, and
render your Love and Honor most renowned. Pitye me. I beg
it with tears, and rest

Your most humlile suppliant, W. DvER.
Most Honored Sir, let these lines by your favor be my petition
to your Honorable (leneral Court at present sitting.

Yours, W. D.

Among the papers in tlie State Archives is one recog-
nizing tlie receipt of Mr. Dyer's letter : —

The Magistrates desire their brethren the Deputies would please
give them a meeting about two hours hence, ami that Mary Dyer
be sent for out of prison, to appear before the whole Court.

Assented to by the Deputies.
Boston, 31st of May, IGOO.

Probably at tliis meeting Mrs. D3'cr was offered a release
at the intercession of her husband, as she had received it
previously at the intercession of her son, if she would
consent to leave the jurisdiction, and tiiat she refused to
do so.

If her husband could have answered for his wife, she
would have lived. Most gladly would the magistrates
have welcomed one word from her own lips, tliat she
would no more exasperate and defy them, hut would keep
out of their jurisdiction. But she spoke quite other words.

470 TUE PUKITAN AGE.

" She pave no otlicr answer but tliat slic denied our lawe,
came to bear witnes uj^jainst it, and coubJ not choose but
come and due as foi-nierly." She was sentenced, according
to tlie previous October warning', " for lier rebclliouslv re-
turning; into tiiis jurisdiction, notwitiistandinj: the favour
(if this C'ourt towards her," to die on tiie second day fol-
hiwinir, — June 1.

Tliere were further proceedings at this C'ourt, with a show
of clemenc}' in them, against Quakers returned fiom
banishment.' Mrs. Dyer calmly and triumphantly met her
fate. There was to be still one more, the fourth victim
to the capital law. This was William Leddra. lie had
been long and often scourged and imprisoned, here ari(J in
Plymouth, and was one of tlie most pertinacious, and, as
the magistrates viewed him, the most insolent of those
who delicd them by returning from Ijanishmcnt. With
the same parade of soldiers and drimimers, he was exe-
cuted after the lecture, March 14, IG^'J. His friends were
allowed to take away his body for interment, so that he
was not thrown into the ground with the others on the
Common."

' Court Records, vol. iv. pt. ii. p. 419.

^ It may be tbat the following i-eference in the Journal of Judge Sewall
(.Si.wall Papers, i. 91) is to thp grave of Leddm : —

"Aug. b, 1G85. After Dorchester Lecture, going to Mr, SloLi;;hton's, I «aw a
few feet of ground enclosed witli linards, whicli is done bv the Quakers out of re-
spect to some one or more hanged and by the Gallows ; though the Governor
forbad them when tlicy a,skcd Leave."

An epi-stle whicli Leiblra wrote in the jail before his execution, addressed
to "The Little Flork of Christ," is a characteristic jiaper (IState Archives).
Hi re are extracts from it : -

"Most Okar anh lNw.\uni,v Bi:i-ovfi>, — Tlie sweet intluences of (he morn-
ing; "tnr, like a llnnd distilliiii; into my hnliilation, ha\"e so tilled me with tlie joy of
the Lorri ill the beauty of holines.s, that my spirit is as if it did not inhabit a taber-
nacle of day. but is wholly swallowed up in the bosom of eternity, from whence it
had its heiii;^. Alas ! Alns ! what can the wrath and spirit of man. that lustcth to
envy, aggravated h\' the heat and strength of the king nf the locnsts which came out
of the pit, do unio one that is hid in the secrets of the Almighty 7 Oh, my beloved,
I have waited like a dovo at the windows of the ark. As the flowing of the ocean

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 471

"Winlock Christopherson, who was under sentence of
death if he returned from banishment, had ventured to
present himself at the trial of liis friend Leddra. No one
of all those who were in peril of their lives was more stout,
resolved, defiant, and denunciatory than he, — generally
called Christison. He said he was ready to meet his
threatened fate. Being brought to trial in May, 1661, the
Court, now greatly weakened in its severity, faltered
about passing sentence. Endicott was so provoked by tliis
weakness that he absented himself for two days. He was
induced to return to his place, on the promise that the work
should proceed. Finding tlie Court still hesitating, he
took upon himself to sentence Christison to death on
June 13. Being the last to receive that sentence, he deliv-
ered himself from having to suffer by it. Among the
papers in the State Archives before referred to are the
following : —

I, the conilcmne(] man, do give forth under my Jiand, that if
I may have my liberty, I liavc freedom to depart this jurisdictioD,
and I know not that ever I shall come into it any more.

From the Goal in Boston, the 7th Jay of the 4th mo. ICGl.

Winlock Christison

Upon the motion of Christopherson, the prisoner, in making

known his freedom to depart, the Deputies do hereby grant him

liberty, he departing this Government, when he shall be let out

of prison, as soon as may be : with reference to the consent of our

honored Magistrates hereto.

William Torkky, Cleric.

Consented to by the Magistrates.
7 (1) 16G1. Ed. Rawson, Secretary.

The Quaker historians do not mention (his case of com-
pliance with what the Court wished and profTered for all

doth (ill every creek and branch thereof, and as it then retires again towards its own
bein;^ and fulness, ami leaves a Savour behind it, so dolh tlie life and virtue of
God flow into every one of vour hearb, whom He bath made partalters of his Uivino
nature."

472 THE PimiTAN AGE.

tlic im|iri.soiir'(] infnidors upon tliom. It has been said
that alter all (Jhiistison's bravery and bluster " he (showed
the white feather." It is not nccessar}', however, to sup-
pose that his ]ilu(k and couracre failed him in view of the
pallows. A divine fironijitiiiL:, whieh he elaiined had
brouirlit him here, might also release liim from bearing
any further testimony.

But the peo|tle would allow no more of this death penalty.
IIa[)pily, this resisting attitude of the community and the
breaking down of the Court seem to have been contem-
poraneous with a relaxation of obduracy in the imjjrisoned
Quakers themselves. The magistrates liad with great con-
cern and an.xicty noticed the rapidly increasing mani-
festations of discontent with their [iroceedings, and of
sympathy with the Quakers. This was shown iiy many
who could not approve the behavior or the )irinci[ilcs of
the Quakers, but believed they would be harmless if let
alone. Their fines were paid and acts of kindness done
them by these sympathizers. We must remember that
the whole power of government was with tlie small minor-
ity as churcli members. So far, then, fi'om concluding
that every one of general Puritan principh^s was a per-
secutor, it would rather be reasonable to infer that the
majority of the people disa[iproved of the extreme pro-
ceedings. This state of pulilic feeling was coincident with
an evident disinclination on the pai't of the Quakers, under
sentence, to carry their provocation any farther. Whether
they were lionoral)ly released from further defiance bv a
satisfied conscience, or by the dread of the gallows, tlicv
made tlie full concession required of them.

It is a relief to come in the Records upon this provision
for a grneral jail delivery : thus, granting the petition of
the Quakers : —

" October ] G, 1 GOO. In answer to n motion of the Quakers
now in priRon that they may have theire lil)erty to goe (or Eii:;land,
the Court jii<igetli it mcete to declare that all tho Quakers now iu

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 473

prison shall forthwith have their libertie to goe for Enj^land
in this ship now bound thitlier, if they will ; and for such as will
not goc for England, they shall have liberty forthwith to depart
this jurisdiction within eight days, so as they solemnly engage,
under their hands, delivered by them to the Governor or Dep.
Gov., that they will not ret\irn into this jurisdiction without leave
from the Councill or General! Court first by them obtained." '

At the same Court Joso[)]i Nicolson and Jane liis wife,
in prison for having returned after banishment on pain of
deaths having expressed their willingness to depart for
England, were allowed to do so.^ As soon as they reached
England they were imprisoned in Dover Castle for refus-
ing the oath.

To some who have followed up to this point the narra-
tion of a harrowing conflict between anta'jronistic con-
sciences, it may seem as if it had ended in the comfilete
triumph of the magistrates. All tjie Qiialcers under duress,
twenty-seven in number,'* besides the three who were
doomed to the gallows, had agreed voluntarily to leave the
jurisdiction. This was all that tiie mairistrates liad ever
required of them. Holding firmly to their own conviction
that these intruding strangers, alleging a divine mission
to come and overthrow all civil and social order in tlie
country, were fanatics and nuisances of the most pestilent
character, they ordered them to leave tlie jurisdiction
where they had no right to abide. Tiicy thought that if
the Quakers regarded themselves as wronged, they shouhl
obev the command of their Master, and when persecuted
in one place should go to another. Tlierc had come to be
three parties to tlie conflict : the magistrates, charged with
the defence of tlie commonwealth ; the majority of the
people, who were opposed to any further capital proceed-
ings ; and the Quakers, the cause of so much annoyance.
It would seem as if all these three parties had occasion

' Records, vol. iv. p. it. p. 433. * IbiJ.

• Bishop gives their oames (p. 310).

474 THE PURITAN AGE.

to be satisfied. The will of tlm magistrates had prevailed
by the rocoirnitidii of their authority; the peojjle were to
bo s[)ared any more scenes on the scaffold ; the Quakers,
convinced liy their own methods of illumination and divine
jiromptini^s, fi.'lt that they were in conscience discharged
from any further " testimony," and " had freedom to
depart." The general jail delivery was to be welcomed,
through whatever agency it had been effected. It is al-
ways, however, to be remembered that it was the unflinch-
ing and heretic constancy of the four victims that had won
the pcoi)lc to the resolve that, whatever else should be done
with the Quakers, no more of them should suffer the death
fienalty.

The General Court, meeting Dec. 19, IGGO, voted an Ad-
dress to King Charles II., on his restoration, which is spread
on the Records. It contains a plea for the preservation
of their colonial rights and liljcrties, and a defence against
the machinations and complaints of their enemies near
tiie throne. They well knew that among these were the
Quakers, to whom the following reference is made in the
Address : —

" Concprning the Quakers, open and capitall blasphemers, open
seducers from ihe glorious Trinity, and from the Holy Seriptures
as the rule of life, open enemies to government itself as established
in the hands of any but men of theire owne principles, malignant
and assiduous promoters of doctrines directly tending to subvert
both our churches and State, after all other meanes for a long
time used in vaine, wee were at last constroined, for our owne
safety, to passe a sentence of banishment against them upon paine
of death. Such was llieir daiugerous, impetuous, and despcrat tur-
bulciiry, both to religion and the state civil ami ecclesiastical], as
tliiit. how unuilliiigly soever, could it have biiui avoyded, the mag-
istrate at last, in conscience both to God and man, judued himself
called, for the defence of all, to keepe the passage with the point
of tlie sword held towards them. This could do no harme to him
that would be warned thereby ; theire wittingly rushing themselves

THE INTKUSION OP THE QUAKERS. 475

thereupon was theire owne act, and wee, with all humillity, conceive
a crime bringing tlieirc blood ou theire owne liead. The Quakers
died, not because of theire other crimes, how capitoll soever, but
upon their superadded presumptuous and incorrigible contempt of
authority ; breaking in upon us notwithstanding theire sentence of
banishment made knowne to them. Had they not binn restreined,
so farr as appeared, there was too much cause to feare that wee
ourselves must quickly have died, or worse : and such was theire
insolency, that they would not be restreined but by death ; nay,
had they at last but promised to depart the jurisdiction, and not to
returne without leave from authority, wee should have binn glad
of such an oppertuuity to have said they should not dye." '

The view which the magistrates took of their own course
and responsibility is asserted with the utmost strength
which they could give to it. Wc are left to decide as
intelligently and as shrewdly as we are able, whether
their plea in self-defence expresses the blind and relent-
less severity of bigotry, exasperated by defiance, or
an honest and sincere conviction that such defiance of
their authority really threatened the wreck of govern-
ment.

Was it with sham pretence, or with reason grounded on
apprehensions, that the authorities alleged that beyond then-
heresies the Quakers were to be dreaded as enemies to the
peace and security of society ? That able Quaker cham-
pion, Edward Burroughs,^ in his ajipcal to the King in tlieir
behalf, writes : " Did ever these poor j>eople whom they con-
demned and put to a shameful death lift up a hand against
them, or appear in any turbulent gesture towards them ?
Were they ever found with any carnal wea[)on aixMit them ? "
etc. And Mr. Doyle^ calls it a "flimsy atid dishonest ex-
cuse that the Quakers were dealt with not as heretics, but
as enemies to civil order." The explanation of this is to
be inferred from preceding statements. The Quakers never

' Records, vol. iv. pt. i. p. ■161.

" Collectfd Writings, p. 756. ' PuriUn Colonies, ii. 171.

47G THE PURITAN AGE.

comiiiitted, or even ilireatoncd, any act of violence, nor
raised a carnal weafidii ; nor were (jifv, as already stated,
in an\' way o[i]iose(] to lawful nuiiristracv within its [irovince.
Nevertlieh'ss, it was nut their iiands nor their weajions which
the niairisli-ates dreaded, imt siiiiiily thi'ir tonp'iies. the bur-
dens which they uttered, their contcmijt of the orders and
laws of the magistrates. These trueulencies of speech
and conduct tlic magistrates insisted on rcparding as
dangerous instruments of sediticju and anarrliy as fire-
arms W(juld liave been. It is diflieult to believe that the
rciiealcd declarations of the magistrates to this effect
were hypocritical.

We must kee[i in mind that the macristrates, some of the
deputies, and such of the fi'eemen, church members, as felt
most outraged by the fiersistency of the Quakers, and were
still disposed to treat them with the utmost severity, -were
now placed in a position of extreme embarrassment. They
well knew that a spirit of opposition to their harshest pro-
ceedings, and a spirit of sympathy and commiseration, even
of admiration, for the Quakers, were rajiidly strenrrthening
in the community. No more capital punishments would
be tolerated. What then should the magistrates do in
this dilemma? The Court, May 22, 1661, passed a new
law : —

"This Court, being desirous to try all meanes with as much
lenity as may consist with our safi'ty to prevent the intrusions of
the Quakers, who, besides theire aljsuni and blasphemous doctrine,
doe, like rouges and vagabonds, conic in upon us, and have not
been restreined by the laws already provided, have ordered that
every such vagabond (.Quaker found within anv part of this ju-
risdiition shouhl lie taken licfore a mairistrate, and being ad-
jiiil;;ed to lie a wandering (.Quaker, — namely, one that hath not anv
ilwi'lliii'^ or orderly allow:iiieo as an inhaliitant of this jiirisdietion,
— and not ^ivin;; civil respect by the usuall gestures thereof, or by
any other way or nxancs manifesting himself to be a Quaker, shall
by warrant to an ofTicer be stripped naked from the middle up-

THE INTRUSION OP THE Q0AKER3. 477

wards, and tied to a cart's taylc, and whipped " from town to town,
by the constable of each, till out of the jurisdiction.'

This puiiisliiiient to be repeated on a second and a third
return. On a fourth return, at the iliscretion of the magis-
trate, to be branded with the letter "R" on tlie left
shoulder, and again whipped and sent away. Keturning
yet again, "then to be jiroceeded against as incorrit:ible
rogues and cnneiuies to the common peace," to be im-
prisoned and tried under the law of banishment on pain
of death. This was {or vagabond intruders or strangers.
For Quakers arising here the penalties were substantially
the same.

All (.Quakers then in prison were to be informed of this
law, and to be released, passing unharmed from cunstiible
to constable out of the jurisdiction, and if tiiey returned,
to be dealt with according to the above provisions. Two
of the prisoners who liad stood mute Ijefore the Court, re-
fusing to give any answer, were sentenced to bo whiiii)ed
both in Boston and Dedham, and then sent out of tlio
jurisdiction.

Some of our writers, alike in prose and in poetry, have
assumed, and ha\e written on the assumption, that the de-
liverance of the Quakers was effected by the interposition
in tlieir belialf of KingCiiarles 11.* It will a[i[)ear, fi'om a
clear statement of tiie facts of the case, that the interposi-
tion of the King, instead of relieving the Quakers from such
penalties as the Court would iutiict upon them, proved
most harmful to them. As Mr. Doyle very foi-eihly jjuts it,
the Quakers having asked, and supposing they had received,
the protection of the King, were to their soiiow reminded
of the warning, " Put not your trust in princes." Long

■ Records, vol. iv. pt. ii. p. 3.

^ The wii'.iT of tliesf pages some years apo gave a degree of assent to this
view. See "Memorial History of Boston," i. 187. But n strirtcr attention
to dates and to the f.-itt tljat popular fueling hero had anticipated the command
of the King, satisfied bim of his mistake.

478 THE PURITAN AGE.

fellow, in his New England Tragedy, " Jolm Endicott," puts
into the (!ovenior"H moiilii, addressing his Deputy lielling-
ham tlie order for the release of the iiiiprisoued Quakers,
these words : —

" Hut Bcc that none of them bo sent to England
T(i bear false witness, arid to spread re[X)rt8
'I'hat uiiglit bf prejudicial to ourstlvijS."

Now, so far were the magistrates from fearing any harm
to be done them by Quakers reporting their doings in Eng-
land, and from restraining their going thither, that, as we
have read in the Court order, they were released from
prison on the exjiress eondition of their promise to go there.
Any one who has read diligently the Reeords of the Gen-
eral Court of Massachusetts at that period, will find matter
alike of amazement and amusement in the hardly disguised
adroitness and truculcncy with which the authorities treated
the anointed monarchs successively occupying tlie throne.
There is adulation, something that looks very much like
fawning, and hypocritical deference and flattery to the King
in their words, while utter disloyalty and disobedience were
in the hearts of the magistrates. They cared nothing for
the ill re[iorts which tlie Quakers might s[)read of them in
England, for they knew tliey could tell tlieir own side of the
story, and they were well informed as to the virulent treat-
ment of the Quakers there. Indeed, it is exceedingly
doubtful whether Endicott, Bcllingham, and their asso-
ciates would not have found some ingenious method of
.disobeying a positive command of the King if it thwarted
their own pnrpuse. At any rate, in the case before us
the direction of the monarch had been anticipated.

I'idward I'lirroughs, an iMiglish Friend, leaining of the
just (juolcd .Address sent by the Court to Charles II. on
hearing of bis restoration, wrote a very sharp and able an-
swer to it, which is Riijiposed to have reached the knowl-
edge of the monarch, lie also obtained an audience, and

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 479

by his earnest pleading drew from tiic monarch a letter to
the magistrates which he allowed to be sent in a private
vessel, provided by the Quakers, to Governor Endicott.
Samuel Shattucic, a banished Salem Quaker then in Lon-
don, was the bearer of the letter. Wearing his own hat,
while Endicott removed his to receive " a message from the
King," the Quaker had a brilliant Iriumfili. After a con-
ference with his dcjiuty, Bellingham, the Governor said,
" Vie shall obey the King." This is said by the Quaker
historians, but not by Shattuck.'

The royal letter, which follows, had, as we have seen,
been substantially anticipated as to its principal demand
by the action of the Court. Tiie general jail delivery of
thirty-one Quakers, including the three under the death
sentence who had voluntarily agreed to go off, was ordered
by the Court in Octoijcr, 1660. The King's letter was
dated at Whitehall a year afterward. Let us claim wliat^
ever of relief we can (ind in reminding our.sclvi's that it
was the stern opposition and protest of the majority of the
people of the Puritan Colony, and not the King's command,
that had opened the gates of mercy.

Charlks R.

Tkusty and WKi.L-iiF.i.ovF,n. — We greet you well. Hav-
in;; been informed tliut several of our Suhjocts amongst you
called Quakers liave been and are Im[irisoned by you, whereof
some have been Executed, and others (as hath been represented to
us) are in danger to undergo the like, We have thought fit to sig-
nifie Our Pleasure in that bt-half fur the future ; and do hereby

1 Shattuck sent a letter to liia frieDds in EDgland describinR his voyage
and recejitioii by Endicott It is without the druniatic features pven by the
Quaker liistorians, — save tlje restoration to him of hii, but, wliicb bad been
taken from liim before bis message was di-Uvered. It is jileasant to have in
the letter the recognition by Shattuck of tlie sympathy of the people with the
errand on which he came : "The moderate sort rejoiced to see me ; the truth
had eotten prcty much ground of the Adversary," He remained between
shipboard and on biml, and visited sonu- friends in jail. The letter is in
Aspinwall Papers, 4 Ma.ss. Hist. Soc. Coll., ix. 160-1G2.

480 THE PUllITAN AGE.

re<|uire, That if tliere be any of those People called Quakers
aiiKiiij;Kt you, now already Condemned to Buffer Death or other
cui'|Mir;il riHiishini'iit, or that are Imprisoned and Obnoxious to
tlie like t'lJiideuiuatiuu, jou arc to forbear to piroceed any further
tliiTfin, but that you forthwith send the said Persons (whether
Condemned or Imprisoned) over into this Our Kingdom of P-iij,'-
land, tc>;;ether with tlie respective Crimes or Offences laid to their
Char;,'c, tu the end such Course mav be taken with them here as
shall be agreable to Our Laws and their Demerits : And for so
ddinj;, these Our Letters shall be your sufTicient Warrant and
Discharge. Given at Our Court at Whitehall, the ninth day of
Sept. ICCl.

By his Majesty's Command,

William Mobeis.

There is some confusion as to what followed the im-
mediate recciition by the magistrates of this royal letter.
John Wiiitiiicr, in liis Rejily to the account of the Quakers
given by Cotton Mather in liis Magnalia.' says that wlien
the jailer was called upon liy Friends to release some then
in prison, according to the King's command, he replied that
" it was not for them," and that the magistrates were still
urging jury trials ff)r capital cases. Of later date, and not
till afler the meeting of the Court, Nov. 27, ICGl, we find
this order to —

William Saltii!, keeper of the prison in Boston, — You are
required, by authority and order of the (ieneral Court, to release
and (lisi-liargc the (.Quakers who at present are in your custody.
Sec that you do not neglect this.

Edwakd Rawson, Sec.

Bo.sTON, Otli Dcccnibir, IGCl.

Whiting does not explain to us who tlio prisoners were
whom the jailer refiiseil to release on the ground that " the
order was not for Ihein" as Quakers. Nor can I clear the
pcri)le.\ity. In the interval aflei' the jail delivery, it may

' 111 Bisliup, p. i»c.

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 481

have been tliat some new-comers or sympathizers were
under lestraint.

Before tlie meeting of the General Court to take action
on the letter of the King, a rumor was in circulation that
he had granted certain immunities to the Quakers. A
paper in the State Archives informs us of the notice taken
of this rumor on June 4, IGGl, by the deputies, before the
King's letter was written, though tlieir jirojiosition was not
assented to by the magistrates. The paper recites: —

"Wliereas it seemclh at present to this Court, by such intelli-
gence as we have, to be uncertain what persons (whether Quakers
or others), under pretence of authority from England, may attempt
to publish or act in this Jurisdiction during the vacancy of the
General Court [it is ordered that all persons putting forth any
writing or acting anything (under pretence of authority from Eng-
land or elsewhere) against llie existing laws], especially that
against a conspiracy for aherini; tliis ijovcrnuient, shall lie ar-
rested bv a magistrate and imprisoned without bail."

Tlie Governor, Endicott, sunininncd the Court to meet in
Boston, Nov. 27, IGGl. The critical character of the occa-
sion was fullv realized, a.s apjiears by another interesting
[)aper in the State Archives, showing deliberation in pro-
ceedings when the Court's autliority was under question.
Tiic paper is entitled, " AnswiT of Eiders to the Questions
of tliu (General Court relati\c to the Quakers."

The Elders being called to attend tlie Honored General Court
at a Session held at Boston, Nov. 27, 1661, liave unto certain
cpieries then an<l there proposed to them returned their Appre-
liensions as foUoweth :

Quaerij 1. Whether the execution of our Laws referring to
the Punishment of the C^uakers as such shall be suspended pro
tempore, or what else to be done therein ?

Ans. Upon his Majestie's letters we conceive it expedient
that Execution of death, or corporal punishment, according as is
expressed therein, be suspended pro tempore. Provided that some

31

482 THK PURITAN AGE.

effectual course l)c also taken in the interim for the restraint of
turliulcncics in ohurcli or state, which the Kin;;'s warrant, to our
apprehension, no ways inhiliits, hut rather eneouraj^eth tlierounto.

Qii. '1. Whether the C^uakers in Prison should be sent for
Eni,'lancl with their accusations, or otherwise releaseiJ out of prison.

Alls. We think it much liettfr that the Quakers in prison
shoulil be sent for England with tlieir accusations, than that they
should be released out of prison.

Qu. 3. Wliether this Court is called to make a humble ad-
dress by petition to his Majesty, in answer to his letters now
brought concerning the Quakers;'

Ans. To this oil Qu. we answer afTirmatively.

Tlie fourth and fifth queries, and the answers to them,
ask and assent to the fitness of sendinfr one or more aL^enta
to England with provision to act in the country's behalf.

Another paper in the Arcliives is entitled " Votes as to
Laws against Quakers."

1. Qu. Whether the Execution of our Laws referring to the
(Quakers' corporal punishment shall be suspended pro tempore ? The
Deputies have voted that it be suspended till the next Court of
FAcclion.

The Magistrates dissent.

2. Whether the Quakers now in Prison shall be sent .to
England with their accusations? The Deputies have voted in the
Negative.

The Magistrates consent hereto.

4. Wliether this Court will send an Agent to England to
prosecute our affairs there? The Deputies liave voted in the Neg-
ative. The Magistrates have voted in the AHirniative.

."). Whether there should be monies raised to effict the same ?
The DeiuiticB have voted in the Negative. The Magistrates have
voli'd this also in the Affirmative.

The ;id Question [relating to " an Humble Address "J not
being agreed on, is further to be considered of

WlI.IIAM ToKRFV, C/rr.

Afterwards, JM.igistrates and Deputies both consent to nn Ad-
dress to his Majesty. Edw. Rawson, Secretary.

THE INTRUSION OF TUE QUAKERS. 483

Previous to the receipt of the King's letter about the
Quakers, the Court had on Aug. 7, 1(JG1, indited anotiier
letter to him, the strain of which is fawning and hypocriti-
cal in the most offensive degree. A portion of it may be
given here, premising that the reference in it to Tenner,
tlie leader of the Fifth Monaixhy fanatics in London, wlio
had been a cooper in Salem, Mass., adroitly suggests "that
he had come to us before he went from us."

To the high and mi<j}(f'j prince. Charles the Second, hy the grace of
God King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Defender, etc,

iLLUSTRiors Sib, — That majestic and benij^nity hath sat
upon the throne whereunto your outca.sLs made their former ad-
dresse, witness this second eueharistieall approaeh unto the best of
kings, who, to other titles of royaltie common to liim witli oth<'r
gods amongst men, delighted therein more peculiarly to conforme
himself to the (iod of gods, in that he hath not desjiised nor al)-
horred, etc. This 8cri|it, gratulatorie and lowly, is the reflect ion
of the gracious raves of Christian majestie, etc. We are deeply
sensible of vour majestie's intimation relating to instruments of
Satan acted by impulse. Diabolicall Venner (not to say whence
he came to us) went out from us because he was not of us. God
preserve your majestie from all enemies agitated by an infernall
spirit, under what appellations soever disguised. Luther some-
times wrote to the senate of Mulhoysen to beware of the woolfe
Muncer.'

The Address of the Court in answer to the letter of the
King, of Sept. 9, 16G1, is as follows : —

" The just and necessary rules of our government and condition
for preservation of religion, order, and peace, hath induced the
authority here established from time to time to make and sharpen
lawes against Quakers in reference to their restles intrusions and
impetuous disturbance, and not any propensity or any inclination
in us to punish them in person or estate, as is evident by our
gradual! proceeding with them, releasing some condemned and

' Ri-oonls, vol. iv. pt. ii. p. 32.

484 TUB rUKITAN AGE.

others liable to conJemriation, and all imprisoned were released
and sent out of our borders ; all wlii<;l], notwitlistaniling theire
restless spirilts, have mooved some of them to returne, and others
tu fill tlie royall eares of our soveraijj;iie lord the kin;; with com-
[ilaints aj;ain.st us, and have, by their wearied bolieitatiuns in our
absenee, so farr preva\ led as to obtiinr a letter from his majesty
to forbeare their corporall punishment or death. Although wee
hope, and doul)t not, Ijut that if his inajesty were rightly informed
he would lie farr from giving them surli favour, or weakening his
authority here so long and orderly setled, yet, that wi-e may not
in the least offend his majesty, this Court doth heereby order and
deelare that the execution of the lawcs in foree against Quakers,
as such, so farr as they respect corporall punishment or death, be
suspended untill this Court take further order." '

Magistrate Bradstrcet and EldiT Norton were sent on
tlicir agency to England witli many instructions on various
matters.^ Tlic one of concern here was, that they should
■' indeavor to take off all scandall and objections which are
made or may be made against us." ^

Mcanwiiilc, [icnding the issue of the two addresses made
to the King, the Court, by an order of May 7, 1G&2, which,
though nut mentioning the Quakers, included them under
"the vagrant and vagabond fiersons, as well iidiabitants
as lorreigncrs, that wander from their families, relations,
and dwcUing-jilaces," still provided for their corporal pun-
ishment from town to town.'' A\'itliiiut looking outside the
Records, we see the evidence of a feverish excitement in

' Rpcorcls, vol. iv. pt. ii. p. 34.

2 Tlu'se agents might have Imil q perilous cxpiTirnce in Kngl.iiul liad it not
bcon fur tlif furbearanco and magnanimity of sonu' of tin' Kricnjs. who per-
sonally challrnpod tlirm for tlicir share in the proi'cciUngs hero against their
brethren. The father of tlieir viilim, liobinson, wa-s prompteil to bring a
enniplaint. Fox advised that they l>e left to "the dealing of the I.rf>rd."
He gives in liis Journal a charmingly cliaraeteristic account of an interview
with tliem ending in tlieir diseonifiture. The agents had ventured to plead
that the tjuakers hail been dealt with as Knglisli law dealt vv'ith Jesuits.
"Bill," replied Fox, "you know tliey were not Jesuits."

• Uecords, vol. iv. |it. ii. p. 37. * Ibid., p. 43.

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 485

the communitv, marking' this as a crisis fur the more reso-
lute of the magistrates in maintaining their defied author-
ity. They complained that Quakers, hupiiig to receive
protection from the interposition of the King, roamed
about tlie towns and villages, finding lodging and food
with sympathizing inhabitants, drawing multitudes away
from their necessary employments, breaking the quiet of
the Lord's Hay, and causing frights and panics for nervous
people by their denunciatory proj)hcsyings in the meeting-
houses. So the magistrates pertinaciously held to their
course of severity. Tiicy were evidently in no fear of the
King. Knowing well that hundreds and thousands of
the Quakers were at the time meeting tlic penalties of the
law, suffering from mobs, and rotting in jails in England,
they would not believe that they would be forbidden self-
protection from these offenders Ihtc, where disorder and
si'dition were more threatening. A shi[)-cuniniander had
nnwittinglv, not knowing the cliaracter of his passenger,
brought into tlie town a woman Quaker, " a decrepit per-
son, a notable and fitt instrument of that cursed sect, to
divulge their tencnts, and came furnished with many blas-
jthemous and haereticall bookes, whicli she hail S|iread
abroad." The captain professed his sorrow for his act,
and promised to keej) her on board and to return her
whence she came. His fine of one hundred [)0und3 was
remitted, on his giving a bariel (jf powder.' Stiffening in
its purpose, on Oct. 8, 1GG2, the Court announced that —

" for some reasons inducing, it had judged meet to suspend the
execution of the lawes a^'aiiist Quakers, so farr as they respect
corporall punishment or death, during the Court's pleasure. Now,
forasmucli as new complaints are made to this Court of such
persons abounding, especially in the easterne parts, endeavoring to
drawe away others to that wicked, — the law, title. Vagabond
Quakers, of May, ICCl, shall henceforth be in force in all respects,
provided that theire whipping be but through three townes." ^
> Records, vol. iv. pt. ii. 55. * ibid., p. 59.

486 TUE ruuiTAN age.

'J'liesc biiittil scenes at tlie cart's tail — so in keeijirif;
willi tiie jiulicc system of thdse iJays in England, so revolt-
in;^' as ti> 1)0 iniiiossiitle of cnuctnu-iit in our own times —
had llicir aL''gra\ atiun or relief, according to the measure
of liailiarilv or liiimanitv in tbe ollicer, and tin' behavior,
wiietlicr |jassionale in renKjnstrance or sym))athi7,ing, of
the lookers-on. The iieo])le of I'ov(M' — now New Hamf>-
shire — jietitioned the Court for more sexerity " apainst
the s[ireadiML:; of the wicke(i errors of the t^iiaki.Ms amongst
them," aTid the local magistrate was instructed to execute
the laws.' Oct. 21, 16G3, the Court ordered, —

" WlitTca-s, it is fouud by experieiicf tluil tliere are many who
are inhabitants of tliis jurisJictiou wbieli are ennemies to all gov-
ernment, civil and ecclesiasticall, who will not yeild obeJience to
autliurity, bat make it much of theire religion to be in opposition
thert'to, and refuse to beare armes undtr others," — combining in
some towns to make parties and influence elections, and abstain
from public worshiji, — " be made uncapable of voting in all civil
assemblies," and be fined.'

At length the Court roccivcd the cxj^ected answer from
the King. His letter contained other matters whidi will be
referred to in another connection. The following passage
in the letter concerns the matter now before us : —

"Wee cannot be understood hereby to direct or wisli that .iny
indulgence should be granted to tho.se persons commonlv called
Quakers, whose principles being inconsistent with iiiiy kind of
government, wee have found it uecL-ss;iry, by the advice of our
I'arli:imcnt here, to make sharp lawes against theui, and are well
conlenti'd that you doe the like there." '

Thi' Quakers had apfjealcd to the King against the mag-
istrates of Massachusetts. M(jst disastrous was the rcsidt
for the siipferers. The Quaker liistorians give us the for-
mi'r letter of t!ic King; but whether from disappointment,

' Ki'.ui.ls, vol. iv. pt. ii. p. fi». ^ Ibiil., p, 88. ' ll.iii., |i. 166.

THE INTRDSION OF THE QUAKERS. 487

or some other feeling, they suppress this. Considering
that capital proceedings had been already abandoned, not
because of the prohibition of the King, but by the breaking
down of the Court through the protest of the people,' the
magistrates now felt that they had the royal sanction for
" sjiarp lawes " against the Quakers, like his own.

The facts relating to the interposition of the King in
behalf of the Quakers appear from tiie Records to be as
follows: No j)risoners, with the charges against them, were
sent by tlie Court to England, as the King had ordered.
Such of them as voluntarily ciiose to go there were at lib-
erty to do so. The prisoners under capital sentence had
previously consented to leave the jurisdiction. While some
of the magistrates would still liave been willing to inflict
the death penalty, the [)rotest of the people and tlie Ijreak-
ing down of the Court had disaided tbi/m. If otlicr ccir-
poral punislimcnts were temporarily susjiendcd, tiiey did
not cease at the command of the King, and were afterwards
renewed as by his sanction in his second letter.

The most offensive and extravagant of the eccentricities
of deportment in individual Quakers occurred after the
harshest severity of tlie treatment of thrm liad l)een much
relaxed, and {)0pular respect and sympatliy had been largely
drawn to them. It is fitting to state, however, that the cases
to be mentioned were exceptional ones! The morals, behav-
ior, manners, and speech even of the rudest of the Quakers
were always rigidly conformed to decency and purity.
In no single case did they furnish occasion for scandal.
Not a reproach for any moral oilence rests upon any one
of them ; and this is true, notwitlistaiiding the fact that
individuals of either sex wandered about together in their

' Mr. Doyle (Puritan Colonies in New Kofjland, ii. 17-) writes: "Inas-
much 03 the Court of Mxssacliusetts hail alrca<ly changed its policy towards
the Quakers, it is clear that they were moved liy the dread of royal interposi-
tion, and not by that intprf>ositiou itaelf." In saying this he seems to have
overlooked the ojiposition and di.sfpist of the majority of the people which
compelled the failure of the sanj,'uii]ary law.

488 THE PURITAN AGE.

missions, and their sfntimontal n-lations were fond and
gusliinj:;. The wife of Eliakim Wardel, of Hamilton, de-
Kcribeil as a " cliastc and tender woman," of " e.\eiii]jlary
modesty," five years after the last execution in lioston,
havinjj; embraced Friends' firincipiles, liad forsai<en puhhc
worship, though often asked to attend and jrive reasons for
her course. At last she startled the con^jrejration at New-
bury l)y goinp throuijh the aisles of tlie meetinij-liouse
wholly unclothed. Tiic Quaker historians explain her
•' prophetic act " as a testimony afrainst the iniiiiodcst ex-
posure of the females made by the mag-istrates when they
were stripped to the waist to be scourjred.

About the same time Peborah Wilson, described as " a
young woman of a very modest and retired life," went
through the streets, without clothing, for like testimony.
Both these women suffered scourging. In IGTT Margaret
Brewster, of Barbadoes, came to Boston, " ha\ ing a fore-
sight given her of a visitation of the black jiox, which
rccjuired her to pro<'laim it during jiublic woi'shiji." So,
with three other women and a man, she entered the .'^outh
Meeting-house in Boston, on Sunday, " in Sackcloth, with
Ashes u]ion her Head, and barefoot, and her Face
blacked." ' She caused great consternation and horror,
so affrighting some females as to lead to serious conse-
(piences for them. This case may be an illustration of
what the Puritans believed to be a spiiit of fanaticism
roused in the Quakers in their ecstasies and broodings
over supposed {irom[itings from (iod. She told the Court
that she had been brouL'ht near to di'atb because she had
had this divine monition for three yeai's and had neglected
it. She received twenty lashes for lier act. Wiiliin ;i few
days twenty-two (Quakers were scourged for attending their
meetings, rrotests from abroad and at home were so dis-
ajiproving and indignant that this was the last occasion
in which the lash was used here against Quakers. And

' Bcssc, ii. 260.

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 489

from this date, notwithstanding the exceptional cases just
mentioned, the more objectionable manifestations of the
Quakers began to diminish.

That a portiou of the Court retained all its bitterness
against the Quakers when it could no longer visit its
direst penalties upon them, ajipears from the following
reference to them in the summary review of f)ublic woes
during tlie Indian War. In November, 1G75, tlie Court
declares : —

" Whereas, it may be found amongst us, that men's thresholds
are sett up by God's thresholds, and man's posts besides God's posts,
espeaciully in the open meetings of (Quakers, whose damnable
hoeiisies, abominable idolatrys, are hereby promoted, embraced,
and practised, to the scandal! of religion, hazard of souls, and provo-
cation of divine jealousie against tliis people ; for prevention and
reformation whereof, it is ordered bv this Court that every person
found at a Quakers' meeting shall lie apprehended and connnilted
to the house of correction, and there to have tlie discipline of the
house applied to them, and to be kept to worke witli bread and
water for three days and then released," ' or pay as fine five
pounds.

As liad been the case with the Baptists, so it was with
the Quakers. Firmness and persistency, with supyiort and
sympathy in tolerance and kind acts from individuals in
every place who still attended the n/gular meeting-houses,
encouraged the dissenters tu assemble in private houses or
in the woods, and then to jirovide their own places for
assembly and worsiiip.

The Quakers, as is the experience of all other sects,
soon began to meet differences of opinion and practice
arising among themselves, threatening divisicm. As soon
as they could, they hold in fieaee a meeting at Salem. John
Perrot had persuaded some Friends tiiere, that there was
a " testimony " to be made by keeping on their hats even

' RetorJs, v. 60.

490 THE PURITAN AGE.

in prayor. The solemn broad-brim, which Ijad been sub-
stituted for (lie ^rayiy plumed ciivalier head-gear, had an
important place in the symbijlism of Quakerism. John
Jiurnyeat, with two English Friends, coming to Salem, by
a well-manuged " meeting " repressed this heresy, and al-
Idwed worshippers in homage to the Deity to uncover their
lieads, as they would not before any of their fellow-men.
The i>lainness of the Quaker garb had more signilicance
as "a testimony " wljrn it was adupti'd than it has had at
any time since. It was then in most Ijroad rebuking con-
trast with the cavalier and court array, with " slashed "
apparel, laces, ribbons, buttons, and elaborate costume.
But William Penn allowed himself in such matters more
eouformity with the world. He had in him a fund of
humor which he indulged. By ingenious circumlocutions,
he avoided in his corresjjondence with those not of his sect
the use of "thee" and "thou." He wore buckles and wigs ;
lie used silk and damask ; used a rich coach and a stately
barge ; and kef)t pomp and ceremony, without a water diet,
in his liousehold.

Reference has been made to a doubtful charge against
President Dunster in his retirement at Scituatc, — that
though himself a suffei'cr from intolerance, he encouraged
severity against the Quakers. However it may have been
in liis case, the spirit of dislike, contempt, and scorn es-
hil)ited toward them, their tenets and principles, by Roger
Williams ran to such excess of bitterness, that a reader
of his controversial assaults who might be moved to pro-
test is more likely to find in them matter of merriment.
Quakers soon abounded all around him in Providence, and
in their period of fresiiest zeal and spirit of proselytism,
making as he timught very shocking parodies of Scripture
and tlirology, they gave him material for the most livclv
e.Kereise (jf his most contentious (]ualities. He would not
have harmed ii single hair of the head of any one of them,
but his tongue and pen were free in the whole range of

THE INTRUSION OF THE QUAKERS. 491

raillery, satire, and rasping invective. Not satisfied with
conference and quarrel with such of the heretics as fell in
his way at his home, in field, or by fireside, " his s[iirit was
stirred within him " on hearing tiiat George Fox himself,
the prime heresiarch of the sect, had arrived on a mis-
sionary journey at Newport, in 1G72. He drew up as a
challenge " fourteen Propositions," iialf of whicli he offered
to defend respectively there and at Providence in open dis-
cussion with Fox. With a keen zest for the coming encoun-
ter, this vigorous contestant of all o[)inions but his own —
though these were not always the same — prejiared him-
self for the only sort of fray which he ever enjoyed, but
which was the delight of his sj)irit. Thcjugh he had piassed
his threescore years and ten, he tells us that, setting (jut
alone to row himself for thirty miles in an open boat down
Narragansett Bay, " God graciously assisted me in rowing
all night with my old bones, so tiiat I got to Newjjort
toward midnight, before the morning a[)peared.'" Fox had
not received his challenge, and had gone away. Williams
never could be convinced that Fox had not run oil, in
dread of his formidable antagonist. However, the jiro-
posed disputation went on with other Quakers, in both
places. We have the results, and the castigation which
Williams in return received, in the two volumes already
referred to.

With these encounters of peaceful pugnacity between
two parties who had caused such distraction in Massa-
chusetts, we close the review of the Martyr Age of the
Colony.

XIII.
THE DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHARTER.

There were several effective causes which worked to-
gether in hrincfiiin; about the aimulnient of the Charter of
the Colony of Massachusetts IJay, and, as a consequence,
the prostration of the theocratic basis of government.
The vital and essential principles of this theocracy had,
however, received a disabling and almost fatal blow, in
the extension of the franchise, while the Charter still
held to its threatened life. Tiie proceedings under quo
warranto, against the Charter, had been begun in July,
1683, in the Court of King's Bench, but wero transferred
by the Crown lawyers to Chancery. Thence the fatal
decree went forth October 28, 1(184. This gives us a
period of fifty-four years, coniiiiuing a part of the years
of active life of men of two generations. The Charter
government and the theocracy were so far identilied, that
the latter coiild not sustain itself without tlie authoritv
of the former. l!ut the theocracy was made to yield ;
was humiliated and disabled twenty years before the
Charter was annulled.

We are now to review tlie causes, agencies, and methods
which brouglit about tliose two results. We have to re-
mind ourscl\i's that the ('\ciits were always imminent, and
to lir lodked for as sucli liy those having most reason to
dirad them. It in rather a matter of surprise that the
results were so hmg delayed, held in arrest : tor the move-
ments which at last effected ti;em had existed and had been

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CUARTEB. 493

working actively from tlie first. From the ineffectual pro-
cess of quo warranto against the Charter in 1G35 till the
actual enforcement of it fifty years later, busy enemies of
the theocracy first, ami then of the Charter itself, had never
rested in their efforts. If anything were necessary to
assure us of the seeming sincerity with which the authori-
ties interpreted the Charter as securing to them the rights
which they claimed and exercised under it, especially their
theocratic administration, we should find it in marking the
almost defiant resolution, the tenacity and f)er8istency, even
tlic lingering death-grasp, with which they stiffened them-
selves against royal demands, and the well-nigh baflied
requisitions of royal commissioners for subverting it.

Before distinguishing and defining the hostile influences
which aided in bringing about the catastrophe, wc may start
with a frank recognition of the one general, coiufirehensivc,
and of itself all-sufficient reason for it, and in which all the
other helping agencies found tlieir occasion and impulse.
Tliat was the actual impracticability, as well as tl:e civil in-
justice and the religious intolerance involved in the scheme
itself.

I said on an early page of this work, that among the ideal
and more or less visionary schemes for the planting and ad-
ministering of social and civil government in a community,
it was natural, and to a degree reasonable, that tlint of a
theocracy, with the I]ible for its statute-book, shmild have
its turn for trial. The most opportune time for it would
come when there was found an associated company of men
profoundly moved by a deep, earnest, and implicit belief, a
reverent and ccmstraining conviction, that the Bible was not
only adapted to the use to be made of it, but positively im-
posed a demand that it should be so used. 1 have all along
sought, not excuses nor jialliations for, but simi)ly explana-
tions of, the zeal and resolution, and the high-handed course
of those who had pledged themselves to try the experiment.
The two requisite conditions would be the full sincerity and

494 THE PURITAN AGE.

loftiness of purpose which consecrated it to them, and their
aliiiity, hy authority, h'trishiliun, and administration, to en-
force theocratic princi[ileH of povernment n[)on tfie rest of
their community. With such cliaritablc indulrrence as our
common humanity compels us to yield, we may allow that
llie former of tliesc re(|nisitc conditions, notwithstanding
some intermin'_diM;/s of ill jiassions, was substantially sat-
isfied till the Charter was annulletJ.

It was the second of those Cf)nditionfi which failed. The
disfranchised and unchurchei] mcmhers of the community,
subjected to disabilities and burdens under each of those
deprivations, were constantly increasinfr their proportion in
the population, and jiroclaiminp their grievances. The the-
ocracy would have fallen even if the Charter had retained
its life. The colonial government had abundant occasions
for severe self-questioning as to its proceedings, for recon-
sidering the fundamentals of the sclieme, for stopping in
its course, and, taking thought from the severity of its rule,
for askiuL', Are we acting wisely; arc we not on the wrong
lead, di'fyinir right, truth, justice, and mercy ? Williams
jiuiilisiicd his " IJidody Tenent of Persecution" in 1G44,
twelve years before the inroad of the Quakers. The vigor
and cogency of his arguments, with their quaint directness
of rhetoric in presenting truths of reason as sharply-pointed
weaj)ons of logical temper, were sure to lie read, and as sure
of impressing liijcral views on receptive minds. But they
wholly failed of effect on one of such a mind as Cotton,
whose answer was nerveless and weak, because fallacious,
lie tlioiiLdit he could wash that "Bloody Tenent :" and he suc-
ceeded in makinc it "more bloody," in his attempt to make
it [inre an<l whiti' in "the IJlood of the Lamb." Ami these
occasions for reconsidering the foundations of tlieir scheme
as impracticaiile and involving injustice, did not fail of be-
ing pressed upon the magistrates, alike by friends, like the
nolile-spirited Saltonstall, and by a whole series of com-
plainants and sufferers at tlie English Court. This im-

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHARTER. 495

practicability and tyrannous injustice of their sclieme, to
whicli they themselves should have opened their eyes, was
the most effective agency, working in each of the special in-
tlucnces now to be mentioned, that broiisht about the depri-
vation of the Charter. For fifty years they had held to
that patent — and to their own constructiDO of their rigrhts
under it — atrainst all challenges, hostilities, and tentative
processes of the home government. Their most artful and
effective method for parrying strokes against them had been
found in temporizing, with delays and evasions, pausing on
contingencies, or, as they expressed it, " referring their
cause to God," and waiting to see what way he would open
out of a strait place. Tlie lengthened iiiterxal of convul-
sions and distractions in the civil and reiiLMOus strife in
England, had directly served them by givinir temporary
power at liome to those in sympathy with thrir principles,
in allowing tliem intervals of relief from interference, and
a time for turning fibre into gristle. Tiic success wliich
had so far been mastered by them had nerved them with
fresh resolve, taught them skill in fencing off opposition, and
persuaded them that like constancy would continue their
triumph. There are good grounds for believing that there
were happy opportunities in which, if they had sagaciously
consented to drop from their scheme the eh^ments of it
which were manifestly impracticable, oppressive, and unjust,
they might substantially iiave retained self-government. As
we are soon to take notice, the interposition of royal au-
thority in their affairs was strictly confined at first to a U
demand for tlic disuse of their theocratic principles, and,
indeed, so far from threatening their Charter left it in full
force, even with a suggestion of enlargement of privileges.
But this was without avail. Their tlieocracy stood with
them as the life-blood of their Charter. If their cause'had
been less unjust and unrighteous, one might admire the
resolve and constancy with which the authorities, having
in their charge, as they asserted, sacred rights, stood un-

496 THE PURITAN AGE.

(inailiiig and uii_vii.;ldiii,Lr to the last. They never budged,
nor flew to covert : tliey took l>aek notliing, abated noth-
iiiir, iii'vci' apob)gized, and never rejjcnted. Those of the
1)1(1 (iriuinul fil)re who survived the loss of their Charter
were never rec(jiiciled, but lived and died as mourners.
And, as we shall sec, tlicir last desjieration to letain it
was llic song of the swan in death.

SulTn-ient place has already been given on previous pages
to the assurance wilh which the General Court administered
the government, under cither the con\iction or the assumj)-
tion that the Charter secured to them the rights which they
claimed. IJut the authorities had never, so far as we are
informed by the Records, given any delilierate considera-
tion, liy discussion, and the weighing of diverse opinions, to
the terms of their relation to the home government, in def-
erence, dependence, or subjection to its intervention in mat-
ters of policy and local ailministration. Nor do the Records
furnish us with the detaiU^d information we might desire on
an interesting and pregnant episode in the public councils,
for our fuller knowledge of which we have t(^ look to Win-
tlirop, who devotes several pages to it.^ The time and cir-
cumstances both here and in Plngland made the discussion
to ijr mentioned of critical significance. In the prostration
and alieyance of the kingly rule, preceding the execution of
the royal culprit. Parliament was trying its hand at colo-
nial as well as home administration. It is observable that in
the corresj)ondencc and intercourse that followed between
I'arliamcntai'y commissioners and the authorities of Mas-
sachusetts there are exhibited sympathetic complacencies,
and complimentary exchanges of regard, as between thoso
who are alike rather dubious of their grounds and position.
l%i|nally observable it is that our authorities were inclined t)v
some emboldenment of spirit to treat (he rarliamcnt wi(li
somcwliat more of a nonclialant familiarity than thev did
the King. Several complications and annoyances combined
' Vol. ii. pp. 'jrs-isi.

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHARTER. 497

to vex our authorities on this special occasion. Complaints
and grievances had been brought before Parliament against
Massachusetts by Gorton and otliers of Rhode Island, as
well as by Dr. Child and his fellow-petitioners, as already
mentioned, in the matter which had roused the ire of our
Court. At its session in November, 164G, an order was read
whieli had been received from the Commissioners for For-
eign Plantations, under date of Westminster, May 15, 1G4G,
relating to the petitioners about the Narragansett. The
Commissioners courteously affirm that tlieir action does not
assume the truth of the charges brought against Massacliu-
setts, "we knowing well how much God hath lionored your
government, and believing that your spirits and affairs are
acted by principles of justice, prudence, and zeal to God,"
etc. Several critical questions were o[)ined in this order
for the astute members of the ('ourt, keenly watchful about
every token of a trespass on their liberties and sclf-sulh-
ciency, without allowing appeals from their decisions. So
" such of the elders as could be had were sent for, to have
their advice in the matter."

The full subject " propounded to consideration was in
what relation we stood to the state of England ; wJiether
our government was founded upon our charter, or not ; if
so, then what subjection we owed to that state." The mag-
istrates first gave their minds, tliat the elders might be
helped in giving their advice. It being agreed thatihe Char-
ter was the foundation of the government, some thought
that we were so subordinate to the Parliament that it might
countermand our orders and judgments, and therefore that
we should petition for an enlargement of power. Others
thought that though, as we had before professed, we owed
allegiance and suljjection, yet the charter gave us " absolute
power of government ; for thereby we have power to make
laws, to erect all sorts of magistracy, to correct, punish,
pardon, govern, and rule the people absolutely," etc., — all
implying a self-sufficiency not needing the help of any supe-

32

498 THE PURITAN AOE.

rior power to complete the government. As to petitioiiintr
for '' eiilar^'cment," pravc objections were offered, especially
tliat it would jieiil the jiresent Cliartcr. With the case thus
presented, the elders, ;iftcr deliberation, rendered their ad-
vice. A scruple liad arisen as to aeknii\vl(Ml<rinp tiie title
of tlie (!oniniissi(iners. But this was slirewdly diK[]osed of
by the reminder that in any answer iriven to them, "if
their stile were not observ(!d, it was doubted they would not
receive it." The elders admitted dependence ujion and due
allegiance and hdclity to England, as having derived our
Charter from her, and being dependent ui)on her " for pro-
tection and the immunities of Englishmen ; " that our powers
of government are so full that there should be no appeal
from, or interruption of, our proceedings ; that our agents
and defenders abroad must do the best they can in justify-
ing our proceedings against complainants, '' but if the Par-
liament should be less inclinable to us, we must wait ii)ion
firovidence for the preservation of our just liberties." We
may give to the Commissioners "such titles as the Parlia-
ment hath given them, without subjecting to them in point
of our government." Finally, the elders, as professionally
l)i)und, advise to the churches "a solemn seeking of the
Lord for tiie upholding (jf our state and disappointment of
our adversaries." The Court acted substantially u]ion this
advice. It was proposed that Winthroji should go to Eng-
land as agent. He would have Cdnscnted, though reluc-
tantly, but was hapjiily relieved by a substitute, through
whom a most elaborate reply and justitication was sent to
the Cnmniissioners, with specific answers to the complaints
of Ciiild and the other ix-titioners, who, meanwhile, were
sternly dealt with hero i)y heavv tines.

This mention of what was in fMct an embassy from the
('<iurt to lOnglund priun]its S(Mne further remark ujion the
matter here.

IJesiih's the temporizing shifts and devices of tlu^ Court,
its pijlilic dela\'8 and mystifying evasions, it had naturallv

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHARTER. 499

had recourse to the sendin<i of agents to defend it before
King and Couneil, to subvert ininiicul plots and enemies,
and to win friends to its interests. From tiie earliest years
of the Colony down to the opening of the War of the Revo-
lution, Massaehu.setts was represented by a succession of
such agents. It is safe to say that, thougli it was on a
smaller scale, no intricacies, ingenuities, and arts of diplo-
macy between sovereign nations ever drew more heavily
u[ion the wits and resources of ambassadors, than in the
cases of these Massachusetts emissaries. There is this dis-
tinction, however. The persons and the personal riglits of
real ambassadors are sacredly secure. But the Massachu-
setts agents, not being assured of official recognition, might
risk their own liberty, be held as hostages, or even as vic-
tims. There never was any strong craving here for these
quasi-ambassadorial functions, — at least among such as the
Court would regard as most competent and fitting for them,
though enough would have been ready to assume them. If
space permitted, a lengthened, and indcrd a lively review
might be spread forth here, from the Records, of the difilo-
matic history of the Court of the Bay Colony. Measuring
exactly by the emergency and the stringency of each occa-
sion, there was an increased dilhculty to lind tiie qualified
person, and to win his consent to the call. And it may be
added, the more faithful the agent, and the more sagacious
and prudent he was in adapting hiinsilf to the hard exi-
gencies of his mission, acce[)ting the best terms he could se-
cure, the more ungrateful and resentful were liis reception
and his treatment on his return. No allowance was made
for the difference in the atmos[)here and surroundings of the
Puritan and the English Courts. The Court would have
long debates, with the advice of elders, on each occasion for
sending an agent, and longer ones on his instructions. The
most emphatic of these were, never to commit the Court be-
yond the letter of them, to hedge and parry within them,
and when hard pressed, to assert the limitations upon him

500 THE PUHITAN AGE.

and to reserve the privilcfjc of coininuiiicating with liis
[jrincipals. Norton and IJi'adhtiuct liad run a s^erious risk
of LieinLC clKillcnL''i'd and ]iroci_'udfd airainNt in I'Ji'^land hy
relatives of the exeeuted Qiiai<crs. In the last attemptH to
avert the hluw aj.'ainst liie (.'harter, it was only with ex-
treme cITort, and alter protraeted delay, and tluMi with em-
barrassment in j)ro\idin;^' su[i|)lies, that eom]jetent agents
were seeured. What there was foi- them to do we can ijet-
ter a]ipreciate by returning now to note tiie leasons and
agencies wiiieh imperilled the (.'barter. Were it of sufli-
cient importance, one might e.Kfiand at Iciigtb, beyond the
lirief mention of tliem, which is all that is nei-essary, three
special causes, all included in what we have alreaily recog-
nized in the im]ii-actieability of the theocratic experiment,
which efl'ected itsdiscomlitui-e. These were — dissension. dis-
content, alienation, and sliarp variances arising among those
who formed the government in State and Church, from its
(jwn ill-working ; active assaults upon it from outsiders and
sufferers; and ]iolitical changes in the mother country.

1. In following out the administration under the charter
with that construction of it which the authorities maintained
as of right, we have had constant occasion to mitc the l\'r-
nient which was woiking within. An increasing severity
of rule liy the covenanted cbuich members, over an cver-
eidarging proportion of the disfranchised, unchurched, un-
baptized, and those denied the religious ministrations which
they prcfi'rred, wliilc they were com]irllrtl to support surji
as they disapprovt'd, was tlu' occasion of internal discoi'd.
It was not only as it was intended to be, the' rule of saints
o\er sinners, but it was the oppression by the fi'w. with self-
assunied ]iri\ileges, over tlu' liberties and rights of all. In
every ease of dissension, followeil bv inlliction of discipline,
tiie antliorities intensilied tii(^ ill-feelings against themselves
and ciillcil out sympathy foi- their victims. In their ]iro-
(■eedings airainst Roger Williams and the Antinomians i\\cY
had jiromoted a troublesome colony on their borders, al-

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHARTER. 501

ways afterward a source of annoyance to tliem. Thoy had
turned some of those in full fellowship with them into con-
verts for the Baptists and Quakers. Wlien some of the
most excellent and honored of those in clnirch covenant
with them espoused the cause of the Quakers, the Court
could not long venture to treat them as it had dealt with
the strolling " vagabonds "' coming from al.iroad. The mag-
istrates found their severe measures constantly thwarted.
Differences arose between them and the deputies, and the
arbitration of tlie ciders was not alwavs effective.

2. These dissensions among themselves were actively pro-
moted by the agents in the second of the causes which ac-
complislied the vacating of the Charter, fk'ginning with
the Crowns, Oardiner, and Moilou, and closing with the
Quakers, all who had grievances against the Cc^urt brought
them before the authorities in England, ami together they
formed a formidable body of bitter and piTsistent enemies.
The motlier country had all the means of knowing with full
warning what was being done on this side by the intracta-
ble and truculent founders of what they called a " state,"
or a " commonwealth," which issur'd [irorrsses in its own
namo and not in that of the King; which had had the ef-
frontery to trespass on the royal prei-ogiitive by coining
money in its own mint ; by disregardin'j; the navigation
laws of the realm, and l)y denying all appeals from its very
[icculiar laws to England. Hesidcs the numerous body of
complainants for the wrongs tiiey had sufTered from the
government of the colony, thiTC were others, like CJorges
and Mason, who, as patentees of territory, maintained a
vig((r(jus hostility not only against the grasfiing measures
of Massachusetts in extending its own bounds, but also
against the validity of its Charter.

3. To these two direct agencies in fomenting mischief
for Massachusetts must be added a third one, in the really
awakened attention of English statesmen given to the Col-
ony, when the restoration of Charles II. seemed to present

502 THE PURITAN AGE.

occasion and opportunity for settling some of the confusion
which liad been workinu; in distracted times. Tiie King's
letter of June 28, 1GG2, received by the returning agents
Bradstrect and Norton, and acknowledged by the Court,
Oct. 8, 1GG2, was not ]iut upon record till the session of
May, IGGo.' 1 have quoted from that letter only the pas-
sage in which the King authorized the Court to pass "a
sharpe law against the Quakers, as lie had himself done."
The letter contained other grave matters, now to be noticed.
On the whole, it is in its tenor most kind and conciliatory,
accepting the professions of loyalty f)f the an.xious but not
frightened magistrates for more than they were worth.
The King writes of his " good subjects," —

" wee receive tliem into our gracious protection, and will clierish
them with our best encouragement, and wee will preserve and doe
hereby confirme the patent and charter heretofore granted unto
them by our royall father, of blessed memory, — and that wee will
be ready to renew tlie same charter to them, under our great scale
of England, whensoever they shall desire it."

Referring to "the licence of these late ill times in Eng-
land," as to an extent relieving the mismanagement in the
Colony, the King grants his full pardon for all crimes and
offences committed there against himself, excci)ting only
those attainted of high treason who may have transplanted
themselves, who must be delivcreil into tiie hands of jus-
tice. His allusion is to the regicides Whalley and Goffe,
who were known to be in New England, but wlio were
secreted, befriended, and never betrayed. Uis Majesty
requires that all laws or ordinances contrary or derogatory
to his authority and government be annulled, that the admin-
istration of justice be according to the Charter and in his
name, and that the oath of allegiance to him be taken.
Then comes the graver matter. The King — through the
pen of his adviser — taking "liberty of conscience" to be

' lirciinU, vol. iv. pL ii. [i. ICl.

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHARTER. 503

something quite diHerent from what it was to those whom
he was addressing, adds ; —

"And since the principall end and foundation of that charter
was and is the freedome and Hberty of conscience, wee do hereby
charge and require that that freedome and liberty be duely ad-
mitted and allowed, so that such as desire to use the Booke of
Common Prayer, and performe their devotions in that manner as
is established here, be not debarred the excercisc thereof, or under-
goe any prejudice or disadvantage thereby, they using their liberty
without disturbance to others, and that all persons of good and
honest lives and conversations be admitted to the Sacrament of
the Lord's Supper, according to the Booke of Common Prayer,
and their children to baptisme. [Then follows the allowance of
" a strict law " against the (Quakers, and permission to reduce the
Charter number of the Assistants to not more than eighteen nor less
than ten.] Wee assuring ourself, and obleiging and commanding
all persons concerned, that, in the election of the Governor or
Assistants there be only consideration had of the wisdome, virtue,
and integrity of the persons to be chosen, and not of any affection
with refference to their opinions and outward professions; and that
all the freeholders of competent estates, not vitious in conversa-
tion, and orthodo.xe in religion (though of different persuasions
concerning church government) may have their votes iu the elec-
tion of all officers, both civill and military." '

Though, as before said, this letter of the King was not
entered on the Records till two and a half years after its
reception by the Court in October, 1GG2, the Court then
ordered the " [lublication " of it, — whatever that might have
meant, — and at once provided, in compliance with one of
its demands, that all processes should lienceforward issue
in his Majesty's name. But the graver matters were dealt
with as follows : —

" And forasmuch as the said letter hath influence upon the
churches as well as the civil state, itt is further ordered, that all
manner of actings in relation thereunto be suspended untill the
' Ileconls, vol. iv. pt. ii. p. 165.

504 THE PURITAN AGE.

next General Court; so that all persons ronccrned may have time
and opiMTtunity to consider of what is necessary to be doune in
order to his majesty's pleasure therein." '

The Court aii[Miinfei] tiio first Wei]iicsday of tlie Novem-
l)er coniinij:, for Tliaiiksf-nvinj^ for mercies at liomo and
iiliroiul, ;uul also tlie first Wednesday of Pecemljcr for a
day of lliiiiiiliation on account of the " fire\ailin;i power
of Antichrist abroad, tofi-ether witli some puidic rchukcs
of rJod amonir; oui'sclvcs."

At tlio next meetinp of the Court in May, ICf.", after
"long and serious debate in refference to his majesty's
letter," a committee of thirteen, niapistrates, deputies, and
elders, was charged to examine the several parts of it and
to report at the next Court. Evidently there was no inten-
tion to hurry matters, for temporizing had often done good
service. The crucial [loint concerned " extending the lib-
erty of certeine of the inhabitants in point of elections:"
so ciders, freemen, " and other inhabitants" were invited
to give the Court, or tlie committee, " their owne under-
standings in writing." We may well conceive that the
public in Church and State, and outside of both, had lively
times and themes in discussion.

In the Records of tlie Court in ^fay, \C)Ci-i. we find this
very significant entry, suggestive of the same human de-
vice in another rantre of interests, of the sagacity of a
child who hides a toy which he fears may be taken from
him : —

" Forasmuch as it is of great eoneernmenl In this commonwealth
to kecpe safe and secret nnr patient, it is ord.red tlie patent, and
duplic.ate belonging; to lhi> eountrv, he forthwith hronglit into the
Court, and that ttiere lie two or tliree persons ap]iointed hv each
house to kecpe safe and secret the saiil patent and du]ilicate, in
twd distinct places, as to the said committees shall seem most
expedient."

' Kcronls, vol. iv, ]it. ii p, 58.

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHARTER. 505

Four persons, magistrates and deputies, were appointed,
who received "the grand patent from the seeretary, to dis-
pose thereof as maybe most safe for the country.'' '

Tliis stratagem shows liow dear and precious the hidden
parchment was to the Court ; but tlic tricl^ was of no avail
against a process in Chancery. Recourse was had to this
concealment because of a rumor of the coming of some
royal commissioners cliargcd to examine com[ilaints, who,
it was feared, might demand tiie surrender of the Charter.
The committee on the King's letter had not reported when
these Commissioners arrived in July, 1GG4, bringing another
royal epistle, to institute their searching inquisition into
affairs, and to carry on a contest with the Court, in which
the latter, with tough, adroit, and jiersistent courage and
skill, parried the attacks of the former with a degree of
success. Tlie documents containing the controversy and
wrangling fill nearly six-score pages on the Records '

The Court, Aug. 3, ltir)4, modihed the law restricting
the franchise to church memijers, by enacting, —

" That from henceforth all Englishmen presenting a cirtifficat,
under the liands of thu ministers or minister of tlie place where
the}' dwell, that they are orthodo.\ in religion, and not vitious in
theire lives, and also a certirticat, under the hands of the .selei'tmen,
that they are freeholders [ratable for ten shillings], or that they
are in full communion with some church amongst us, it shall be in
the libertv of every such person, being twenty-four years of age,
householders and settled inhabitants of this jurisdiction, to present
themselves for admittance to the freedom of this commonwealth,
and put to vote in the Generall Court for acceptance to the free-
dome of the body polliticke by the sufferage of tliu major [larte,
according to the rules of our pattent." '

The reader may at his choice mark either the stubborn-
ness or the ingenuity of this seeming concession to the

^ Records, vol. iv. yt. ii. j». lOi The parcliuieiit is now in the Secretary's
office in the State House.

= Ibid., pp. 157-273. » Ibid., p. 118.

[)06 THE PURITAN AGE.

rcqiiisitiuii of tho Kin,!,' wliilu still conservin;^ in its terms
the uxclusivcntBs of tlic franchise. Jii his letter he had
askt'd the extension of the franchise only to persons " or-
thodox in rcli^'ion," tliough his standard of "orthodoxy"
was quite diilerent from that of the Court. The Court
had evidently persuaded itself that the relations of Con-
formists and Dissenters in EniJ-land were dirt'ctly inverted
here. Tlie King re(|uired for those who dissented from
the established (irder here, rights and privileges which in
England were forbidden to Dissenters there, who were
burdened by many disabilities and exactions. An ex-
ample of securing the franchise by the new enactment is
as follows : —

At the Court, Oct. 11, lGfi.3. "On cirtifRcat from the select-
men of Spriiigtielil, and Mr. Pelatiuli Glover, minister there, that
Thomas Merrick, a setled inhaliitant tliere, is, according to law.
rateable, orthodox in religion, of pious and laudable conversation,
the Court allowes and approoves of liim to be a freeman of this
jurisdiction." '

U may have been, though not avowed, in the astute
minds of some of the magistrates here, in drawing the line
of privilege between church members of their own stand-
ing order and outsiders, or " dissenters," to give a signifi-
cant hint to their foreign dictators about the beam in tlieir
own eyes, in the disabilities imposed upon Nonconformists.
It is, however, an interesting coincidence that Episcopa-
lians did not secure their rights in Massachusetts till the
grievous ])etial(ies for Dissenters had been removed in Eng-
land. The strength of the Puritan principles consisted in
tlir sinLdetii'ss, deluiitcness, and, as they believed, tlic abso-
lute right fulni'ss and practical value of the one rule by
whiih the standard for the reforming process should be
<hosen and ap[ilied. They could not accept any purely
arbitrary methods or limits, any devices, adaptations, selec-

' Ketonls, Tol. iv. I't. ii. p. 2S5.

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHARTER. 507

tions, or preferences, by whicli the reconstruction and puri-
fication of the ecclesiastical and civil system under which
they were to live was to be effected. That was a bold and
logical, though a wholly disloyal position on which the
Massachusetts authorities planted themselves at this time.
The King and his agents thought they were uttering a
simple axiom in affirming that the religion and mode of
worship established in the realm should have at least a
respectful recognition in a colony of that realm. But two
reasons of sufficient weight with our magistrates invali-
dated that claim. The first was that, standing by their
original Nonconformist ]irinciples, they regarded the insti-
tution and the ritual of the English Church as unscrijitural,
and of human invention. Tlie second reason for their
alleged contumacy was that their Charter committed to
them certain powers and prerogatives among \vbirli was
the right, under their remote exigencies and circumstances,
to do for themselves, through their Court, very much what
the English Parliament did for the fieople of the rcahu, in
all that concerned the administration of religion and a
form of worship. Looking back to the long and sharp
conflict which their Puritan predecessors had carried on,
in endeavoring that the work of reformation should be
thorough and Scriptural, they had found their side worsted
sim[ily by the engagement of the civil jireference and
authority in favor of conformity. The prelates, divines,
and c(nnmunicants of the English Church at that time,
as has been the case ever since, having no advantage
or superiority in scholarship, piety, caj)acity, fidelity, or
efficiency in the ministry, over the Nonconformists, had
simply just that favoritism which privilege and patronage
conferred by Parliament secured to them, — all as of a
worldly premium. Tbrough nearly three centuries the
Dissenters in England, nearly dividing its population, sup-
porting at their own charges their educational institutions,
their chapels and charities, while sharing the cost of the

508 THK I'UniTAN AGE.

Establislimcnt besides, liavo naturally protested against
this Statu favoritism of eoiiforniity. This ancient and
^•rievoiis ()[i|iression and ijijiistiee seems now to lie in a
way of redress. Sometliin;:; like it was attempted in the
shape of an Kn'j-lish Ciiureh estahlishment in Vir^'-inia and
New York. ']'he I'urilans of Massachusetts, ha\in!.'' the
wit to devise it and the resolution to enforce it, chose to
liavc an cstablislnnent of their own, in which tlieir char-
tered Court stooii for tlie Kn^dish Parliament at liome.

The five New England Colonics, including Massachusetts,
had addressed Charles II., asking security in their privi-
leges, and in four of these letters cumjilaints hail been
made of the Bay Colony. The lettiT of tlie Kinir brought
here by the commissioners was the third of his epistles to
our magistrates. Ills attention had been at once drawn,
on his restoration, to the s]iirit of restlessness, insubordi-
nation, and, indeed, of independence, manifested here : and
his Chancellor, Clarendon, with his Council, — as the method
and tenor of his third letter and of his instructions to his
commissioners abundantly prove, — had given earnest and
keen ini|nisilion into the actual state of afTairs in the Colo-
nies, and especially in Massachusetts. The royal documents
show a wonderful fulness and accuracy of information
aliout the aims and disfiosition of leading men, the matters
of fiarty variance, the occasions of grievances, the weak
jioints in administration, and the methods of self-defence
which would be availed of.

Considering the real attitude and behavior of the Massa-
chusetts, and the full knowledge of particulars pussessed bv
Ciarendiui and tie' Cnuiieil, (ine whu now reads tlieir com-
munications in the name of tlie King, notes witli a degree
of surprise and admiration their dignity, mildness, and
(piiet courtesy of tone, their gentleness, and even forbear-
ance of censure, and their absolute freedom from all threat-
enings, thontrh a reserve of what may follow if this metliod
fails is mildlv intimated. The method of communication

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHARTEK. 509

was iivowi'dly chosen, as a way of "insinuation" of tlie
King's feelings and intentions, rather than one of jirovo-
catiou. And, on the other hand, tlie reader notes with
eijual appreciatiou and adniiratiun tlic caution, the acumen,
tlie perfect self-possessiun, the adroitness, and the stiffness
of resolve shown in the documents which went forth from
the Court. Sagacious minds and sturdy spirits, employing
an able pen, were put to its service. The disputations be-
tween tlie ciimmissioncrs and the Court were tediously
protracted, and shifted rapidly from one subjijct to an-
other, as the former began with surface-work and shrewdly
advanced step liy step to the serious issues. The Court
well understood the strategy, and was never once beguiled
or put off its guard. As the result proved, they could
not prevent the commissioners from finding suflleient and
grievous matter for their messages (jf disconiliture to the
King; but in not a single point of graver import did the
commissioners succeed in circumventing or constraining
the action of the Court. The Charter was yet to have a
score more of years of vitality for itself, and for the adoles-
cence of the commonwealth.

We may trace with brevity the course of this lively con-
test. The King in each of iiis letters, especially in that
brought by the commissioners, liad in the kindest terms
and with the most y)ositive assurances referred to the Col-
onv Charter given by his father, " (jf blesseil memorv," as
not only to be sam'edly ratified and continued by him, but
had even oflered to enlarge the [irivileges wliicli it conferred.
His declarations, and the emphasis of them, furnished a
whole armory of defence and of offence to the Court, giving
it all it wanted, feven the means of challenging, of protest-
ing, and of resisting any measures of intei-ferenee wliicii
came from the same royal source through his coiniiiis-
sioners. So long as the Conifiany could maintain their
Charter, which they well understood iiow to use to cover
all that they claimed under it, they were safe.

510 THE PURITAN AGE.

As suon as the Court had knowledge of the expected
arris'al of the coiiimissioiiors, it made firovision for their
courteous reception, aiipointing two honored gentlemen
to render tlieni " such civilities as the jicopile and [ilace
were capable of." The commission consisted of four
members, — Col. Richard Nicolls, a sort of chief or chair-
man, Sir Robert Carr, and George Cartwright and Samuel
Maverick, Ks(is. Tlie last named, on the arri\al of Win-
throp's Company had been found si-ated on Winnisim-
mett. He was an K[)isco[ialian. but was made a free-
man in October, WS'Z, and had been a constant trouble
and vexation to the Court, the records of which describe
him on his coming as a royal commissioner, as " our
known and professed enemy." The two fiigates wliich
brought these gentlemen were the first vessels of the royal
navy to afipear in the waters of our Bay. Nicolls and
Cartwright arrived at the opening of the Puritan Salibath,
Saturday evening, July 23, ltiiJ4. It may he mentioned
here that Endicott, then Governor, died on the loth of the
following March. His repute with the English Council
had made him so obno.xious that the commi.ssioncrs were
instructed to seek liis displacement from ofticc. At their
request Endicott ordered a meeting of the Council of Mag-
istrates on July 2G, before which the King's letter of Afiril
23 and the commission of his emissaries were read. All
through the course of the hearings and controversies which
followed, as at the lieginning of them, the commissioners
asked that the whole (ieneral Court might be convened
for iiusiness with them. This the Council always refused,
staling that the Charter fi.xed the dates on which that body
should be convened, wliile at the same time insisting that
its legal presence and authority were necessary to enter-
tain such business as the connnissioners had to bring be-
fore it. Besides their commission, these p(-ntlemen had
two sets of " instructions," coTicerning one set of which
they were to exercise their discretion as to comniunicatiiiij

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHARTER. 511

them. The Council wished to know the whole of them,
but could draw theai out only by jiiecemeal. ^'a^ious mat-
ters were covered by these instructions, as relatini;: to the
otlier Colonies, questions disputed about boundaries, war
with the Dutch of Manhattan, etc., compelling the com-
missioners to absent themselves at intervals, making re-
turn visits to Boston. I shall remark almost exclusively
upon their business with the internal affairs of tliis Colony.
The royal letter was kindly and conciliatory in its opening.
It even complimented Massachusetts as having given "a
good example of industry and sobriety " to the other Col-
onics, and as having prospered above them. The King
now intends no harm or injury to tiie Colony, but fully
confirms to them the Charter from his fatlier, and is ready
to grant further favor. He wishes to discountenance all
tlie jealousies and calumnies of which he has iieard. The
commissioners are to confer on the King's letter of June
28, 1G62, sent by Bradstreet and Norton, and the Court's
reply to it, of November 25, "which did not answer our
expectations, nor the professions made by your messin-
gers;" and he requires that his commissioners be treated
with respect. The Council, taking the royal letter into
consideration, marked the com[iliance they had already
made in extending the franchise, but found in its other
contents peril to their Charter rights.

The Court, on assembling, agrees to reply in an Address
to the King. Tiiis document shows in its compnsition and
tenor that it had engaged the advice, ingenuity, and acute-
ness alike of magistratical and clerical co-laborers. Its
tone opens i)laintively and pleadingly, as from a body of
suppliants poor, and remote from the fount of mercy. The
'•first undertakers" of the j)lantation, relying upon the
royal covenant in their Charter, had borne the cost and
charges of their hazardous enterj)rise. P^or more than
thirty years they had struggled with but moderate thrift.
Quoting the King's previous promises about tiieir Charter

bil: THE PUIUTAN AGE.

ri{j;lit.s, they iiiurmiu- thai he sliotilii now send ''four stran-
yc'i-s," wlio, kecpiiiir hack some of their instructions, are
oniinuuslv iiiteruiedillinj; with the affairs of tiie Colony.
The coninussioncis manifest such a spirit as to lead the
Court to dread a BuljV(.'rsion of all their solemnly cove-
nanted riy:hts, with such results of confusion and disorder
as may compel the colonists to seek out a refu^'e in a new
dwelling-place, or to faint under discouragements. As to
the com])laints that have been made against them to the
King, the Address boldly asserts: '• The body of this peofile
are unanimously satished witji the fjresent government,
and ■ahhorient from change; but few among us are male-
content, and fewer tiiat have cause to be so." The Court
perhaps assumed for their monarch a familiarity like their
own with Scri[jture, when reminding him, " It -n'as Job's
excellency when he sate as king among his people, that he
was a faliier to the poore." ^

Tliree of the commi.ssioners having been absent on a
visit to the Dutcli, returning to Boston, Feb. 15, 1G6|,
and meeting with some of the magistrates, asked that a
maj) of the bounds of the Colony be provided for them. In
this rc(|uest they were gratified. Tliey announced their
wish that on their return from a short visit to Plymouth, a
mass-meeting of all the inhabitants might be summoned to
Boston on the day of the election. This request of the
commissioners was evidently founded on the belief that
among the inhabitants at large, including non-freemen and
non-churcli-members, there would be a considerable if not
ijuite a large liody of sympathizers to encourage and 6U]v
j)ort their own demands, and so to further embarrass the
magistracy. The latter, of course, were not inclined to
risk this inlet fur dissension. The magistrates refused the
re(|uest, saying that anylimly who pleased might come, but
tiuit all the ]pet)ple could not be summoned to leave their
home duties, wives, cliildiiii, and the aged, to the mercy of

' UucurJs, Mil. iv. yl. ii. |ni. 172, 173.

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHARTER. 513

the Indians and the neglect of tlie labors of the season.
The commissioners, not liking this rebuff, took upon them
to address circulars of call to leading persons, some of
them not freemen. Tliey also nullified some of the doings
of the Court with other Colonies, and revoked some of its
grants of land. They gave offence by discourtesy as to
hospitalities provided for them. The refusal to summon
the Court on other than its Charter seasons, so stiffly
maintained, called out further remonstrances. The com-
missioners deigned to deny certain calumnious rumors in
circulation about their errand and purposes, as, for in-
stance, that they were to demand a revenue of live thou-
sand pounds for the King, and intended to imjiose a
land-tax.

All this, however, was preliminary sldi-mishing. The com-
missioners next brouirht out ttn'ir instructions upon three
points in the King's j)revious letter which the Court liad
neglected to notice ; namely, his demand about the Jiook of
Common Prayer, the liold sheltering of the Regicides, and
the breach of tlie Navigation Laws. To tlie King and his
commissioners nothing could seem more reasonable than
the request that such of his subjects resident liere as
might choose to do so, should in their service of worship
use the Prayer Book of the Church established in the
lealra. But that book had come to be to the exiled Puri-
tans the svmbol of many other things connected with it,
against which their prejudices, convictions, and practices
had been strengthened by indulgence. To have allowed
schism among them, the setting up of rival worshipping
assemblies, and the consequent ])artition of the support
raised for the ministry, ]iresented practical dilhculties.
The use of that book, it might lie feared, would bring in its
train Clmrch days and ceremonies, especial i)rivileges to
I']piscopalians in the government, demands for endowment,
and possibly even the importation of bishops, with such
blended temporal and spiritual powers as they exercised

83

514 TllK PUItlTAN AGE.

ill England. Tlio roiirt could not contemplate such con-
sequences williiiut the pravcHt apprehensions. So to the
deinaiul of the Kinj^ and hi.s conimis.sioners that tlic Book
of Couunon I'rayer he in free use here, the Court replied,
not curtly with the monosyllahle No ! but witli the same
iie;::ative written out at length, thus: —

"Our liunililc addresses to liis Majesty have fully declared our
maine end in our being voluntary exiles from our deare native
country, which wee had not chosen at bo deare a rate, could wee
have seen the word of God, warranting us t(j fjerforrnc our de-
votions in that way and to have the same set up here ; wee con-
ceive it is apparent that it will disturb our peace in our present
enjoyments."

Which means, that as the Diblc did not warrant their
performing their own devotions by book, so it would not
warrant their allowing other persons to do so. The same
Bible also contained warnings against the betrayal and
delivery of such hunted wanderers as the Puritans believed
the regicides Wlialley and GofTe to be.* So the Court,
knowing very will where those condemned traitors were,
was content with afhrniing that it had issued a warrant for
their apprehension if in its jurisdiction. They suffered no
harm here, but were sheltered till they died in peace. As
to the Navigation Laws, the colonists had some conven-
ient methods of their own which they were not disposed
greatly to modify.

Tlie commissioners next demanded to have before them
a copy of "the Bookc of the Generall Lawcs and Liberties"
of the (^ilony, to see if there was in them anything derog-
atory to the King and his autliority; also a full account
of the constitution of the government, civil and ecclesiasti-
cal, of the taxes and revenue, the military, forts, shipping,
etc. ((f these last matters tlie Court gave such information
as it thought best to communicate. The commissioners

* RpconU, vol. iv. pt. ii, p 200. ^ Isaiiili xvi. 3. 4.

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHAUTEK. 515

went through the " Book of Lawos " very much as a peda-
gogue exaiuuies the composition of a schoolbo}'. They
suggested twenty-six amendments, the principal being as
follows : They required that the King should be declared
in the title of the book to be, by the Charter, the source of
all autliority, and that all writs and acts should issue in
his name. The King's arms should be exhibited in every
court-room, and the English C(jlors on every vessel and in
every military foot company. The word "Commonwealth"
should be stricken out wherever it a|)i>eared, and "His
Majcst} 's Colony " be substituted. It may have been a
sense of propriety, or a piece of cool and im[)udent effront-
ery, that prompted the commissioners to say —

" Therp ou::rht to be inserted and onlt-incd to be kept the 5th of
November and the nine and twentieth of May, as <liiyes of thanks-
giving: the first for the miraculous preservation of our king and
country from the gunpowder treason, the second for his Majesty's
birth, and miraculous and happy restauration to liis crownes upon
tlie same day ; as also the thirtieth of January, a day of fasting
and praying, that God would please to avert liis judgements from
our nation for that most barbarous and execrable munler of our
late soveraigne, Charles thi' First." '

The commissioners understood too well the temper of
those whom thev were addressing, to suppose for a moment
that they would give any lined to these suggestions, or
construct a calendar for such oliservances. It is possible
that some wag in the Court might have proposed, l>y an
aside, that two of the occasions be tal<rn u[i, with an in-
version of their observance, — the execution of Charles I.
being made an occasion for Thanksgiving, and the restora-
tion of liis son an occasion for Fasting. Probably every
member of the Court regarded the decapitated monarch as
" a perjured traitor to the rights and lil)erties of the people
of England, and a convicted dissembler and liar." The

' Records, rol. iv. pt. ii. p. 212.

f)l(; TIIH I'UItlTAN ACE.

(•(jiiiinissioners required Uic rcjical of tlie i)Ciialt3' for keep-
ing Cliristtnas.

It is unnecessary, for our [)urposc, to follow up in par-
ticulars the sliarj) and embittered contention of the two
parties in this undecided issue. The commissioners con-
stituted themselves together, and even individually, a court
of appeal, not only bet\vei;n the C(jl(jnies, but between the
Court and private ofl'enders justly under its discipline and
condemnation. The Court stoutly resisted all sueh claims
and pretences, falling back on the Charter and the King's
assurances under it, which precluded his empowering his
commissioners with such functions as they claimed. Baf-
fled at )iearly every jioint, the commissioners say —

'• Wc have thought it necessary to reduce all the discourse hereof
into one question, whereuutu wee expect vour possitive answer,
which wee shall faithfully report to his Majesty : Wliither doe
you acknowleilge his Majestv's commission, wherein wee arc nomi-
nated commissioners, to he of full fori'e to all tlie intents and pur-
poses therein conteyued ? "

To this categorical que.stiiin the Court replies : —

" Wliy you should put us on to the resolve of such a question,
wee see not the grounds thereof. Wee have only pleaded his
Majesty's royall charter to us, — it being his speciall charge to
yourselves not to disturbe us therein." '

The commissioners com]ilain that in roimposinc: the oath
of allegiance the Court had fettei'ed it with provisos; also,
that in flie protended extension of the franchise to non-
church-members, — demanding a rate of ten shillings, —
while "not one church nieinlier in an liuiidred ]iays so
much ; scarce three members in a town nf an hiindi'cd in-
habitants." The commissioners rcjiorted it as the desire
of the King that the Court should send over to him four or
live of its leading men, one of them to he the Governor, for

' Uci-onis, vnl. iv. ]il. ii. pp. 'JCU-'JOO.

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHARTER. 517

information and direct conference. Under the circum-
stanees tliis would not have been an attractive agency,
even if of personal safety, to the messengers. The Court
affirmed that its direct communications by correspondence
would meet all that such agents could effect.

Both the parties to the contention sent home their re-
spective reports, with charges, criminations, and recrimi-
nations, so that both sides of the shield were fully shown.
The Court addressed the King in a very able and ingenious
paper. They did a further act, the ingenuity as well as
the generosity of which was well appreciated. Knowing the
exigencies of the royal navy at the time, they sent to the
King a present of timber, principally masts, at an exjiense
to the colonial treasury of two thousand pounds. Pepys,
then in the Admiralty, knowing and appreciating the value
of the gift, wrote in his Diary, under Dec. 3, lUtltJ : —

"There is also tlie very gooil news come of four New Eijf;l,'ind
.^liips come home safe to Falnioiilh with masts fur the King;
which is a blessing mighty unexpected, and without wliirh (if for
nothing else) we must have faiUd the next year. But God be
jjraised for thus much good fortune." '

It must have been with a degree of satisfaction that the
Court replied to certain (lucries [nit by the King in his
instructions to the commissioners, asking —

" What progresse hath beene towards the foundation and mainte-
nance of any colledg or schooles for the education of youth, and in
order to the conversion of iiifidells, and wliat success hath attended
their pious endeavours of that kind," etc.'

' In October, 1677, under its new vexations from the troiibler Handolph,
the Court reppated ita courtesies to the monarch by sending him gome of the
country produce. " It is ordered that the Treasurer doe forthwith provide
tenn barrels of cranbur>'es, two hogsheads of speciall good sanipe, and tliree
thousand of cod fish, tn be sent to our messengers, by them to be presented to
his Majesty as a present from tliis Court " (Records, v. 156).

* Records, vol. iv. pt. ii. p. 190.

518 THE PUIUTAN AGE.

Tlic answer in full, jrivcn t(j these queries by the Court,
is one which those of I'uritan lineage may read with
jileasure : —

'• Ydu ni:iv please to take notice tliat there is a small colledge
in this jurisdii'tioii, at tlie towni: of C'amhri(Jj,'e, calleil Harvard
Culledixe, the first and |)rim'i|iall benefactor and founder thereof
being of tliat name. There hath beene and h several 1 summes
disbursed by thir treasurer of this jurisdiction, both for the
building and maintenance tliereof ; some sniall additions likewise
have beene cast in from the beneiliceuce of Bome well disposed
persons.

'• Wee liave appoiut<.d tiie praesidcnt, fellowes, and treasurer
of the said coUedge to give you a particular account thereof, if you
desire it, and through the blessing of God, wee may say (and that
without boasting) tiiat at least one hundred able jireachers, phi-
sittians, chirurgeons, aud other usefull persons, that have been
serviceable in his majesty's dominions, have issued thence. Toucii-
ing other schooles, there is by law enjoyned a gchoole to be kept
and maintaiiied in every towne, and for such townes as are of one
hundred families, tliey are recpiired to have a grammar schoole.
Tlie country is generally well provided of schooles. ConcerniDg
the civillising and instructing the Indians in the knowledge of
God and humaine learning, there is a smale colle<lge of fabricke
of brickc erected in Cambridge, peculiarly appropriated to the
Indians, which was built on the accomiU and by the order of the
I'orporatiou [meaning that in England]. There are eigljt Indian
vouths, one whereof is in the colledg and ready to commence
batchilcr of art, besides another, in tlie like capacity, a few months
since, with several! English, was nmrdrrcd by the Indians at Nan-
tm kit ; and at otlier schools some ready to come into tlic colledge,
all whiili have licen and ari' niainleyned on the state's [! ] account
and charge. There .-ire six tiiwnes of Indians within tliis juris-
diitiiin, who profcsse the t'hristian religion, who h.ivc lands and
tnu iirships set forth and apjiropriated to them liy this court.
TliiTi- are also [mtsoms appointed to i;(ivcrn and instrmt tiieni iu
civillity and religion, and to decide controversies amongst them :
till- Sabaoth is eonstantiv kept by them, and thev all attend to the
piililirki' worship of (jod. They have schooles to teach their youth

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHABTEK. 519

to read and write in severall of their townes, and many of their
youth and elder persons can read and write." '

Did space permit, these modest statements made by the
Court on the single subject of the provisions for education
in the Colony would suggest a line of interesting observa-
tions. A very able and original sermon by the late emi-
nent Dr. Horace Bushnell had for its title, " Barbarism
the First Danger." Its theme, suggested by the rajiid
rush of large numbers of our population into the western
spaces of our country, was of the risks and perils attend-
ant upon tlie removal of imlividuals and companies of men
from civilized and well-ordered states of society into un-
tamed regions, there amid rude and rough conditions to
bear the deprivation of safeguards and civil and social re-
straints. Tiie danger was of a relapse to barliarism, to
rough, uncouth, and lawless ways of life. Signally secured
from these risks of deterioration was even the first genera-
tion born from the settlers of Massachusetts. As remarked
on a previous page, they were even more narrow and rigid
in their ways, less polished and relined in manneis and
gentle influences from the English h(jmc, tlian were their
parents. But there was among them no sinking into illit-
eracy, coarseness, or vulgarity of life, no decay of domestic or
social virtue, no rela|)se in tlie nobler qualities of manhood
and citizenship. Their jiarents had gathered around them
safeguards in home, school, town meetings, amJ churciies.
So they tided over the perils of degeneracy. I have quoted
the bold assertion of the Court that the jieople of the Colony
were uncomplaining and content, and it may be aflirmed
tliat there was no other community then on tlic earth more
healthfully held to task-works of industry, or better re-
warded by thrift, family comfort, intelligence, and sobriety,
than the people of the Massachusetts towns and villages.
Tlie inhabitants of Cliarlestown, for example, enjoyed no

' Reconis, voL iv. pt. ii pp. 198, 199.

520 TIIK PUIUTAN AGE.

peculiar f)rivilegc. Yet in a [)etition which its freemen
addressed to the (ieneral Court in lt3G8, they describe
tlicniselves as "the must haji]))- j>eoiile that they knew
of in the world." ' We may he sure that the p'nerally
quiet, contented, orderly, and thrifty state of all classes
in Massaeluisetts of that generation averted much mis-
chief that miirht liave resulted from the intermed(Jling
errand of the commissioners. The people in the towns
generally must liave found satisfaction in the resolve
and skill by which their deputies liad maintained their
immunities.

After this long struggle with the emissaries of the Chan-
cellor Clarendon and Charles, the Colony, having magni-
fied its Charter by the firmness with which it had stood for
it and the amount of jirivilege and securities which it had
found in its jiarchment covenants, had a breathing yieriod
of relief for about ten years. Then came the direful
struggle, amid massacres, conflagrations, and frontier deso-
lation, known as Philip's War. The wilderness nursing
which the first generation of the English born on this soil
had received, made (hem more fitted than would have been
their fathers to meet the exigencies of that fearful conliict.
It was from the perils and ati'ocities of Indian warfare at
that ])eriod that our ancestors learned lessons on wliiuh
they were to ]iractise fur more than a century following.
It was from those experiences also of the stratncrems and
the exquisite skill and ingenuity of the savage barbarities
of torture, that our )ieople conceived that merciless spirit
toward their red foes, which so far from remaining a mere
tradition among us, has lieeii kcjit in living activitv to this
day. More than half of the fourscore towns of what is
now the State of Massachusetts shared in di'grees of deso-
lation, friim total (irstriict inn by lire and carnage ilown
to such cxliaustion and dread as compelled the remnant
left in them to abandon them for tiie safer settlements.

' Muss. Arcliivo.";, Ixvii. 57.

DOWNFALL OF TUE COLONY CHARTER. 521

A tenth part of the full-grown mfilo ])opulation fell in
open tight, were pieked off in their field work, or, being
carried away as prisoners, met their shuddering fate at
the gauntlet and the stake. The cost in money to Massa-
chusetts was nearly a quarter of a million of our present '
money, at its then eight-fold standard of value. The Court
records are filled for some years with petitions for relief
from the wounded, tlie widows and orphans, and other
individual losers and sufferers hy the catastrojihe.

It was before the war had closed, and amid the exhaus-
tion, depression, and dismay of its later stages, that the
Court, under the governorship of that sturdy Cromwellian
soldier, Leverett, was called to meet and tussle with the
initiation of those measures so skilfully jirum|ited and
guided by their arcli-niisehief-inaker, Randulpli, wliieh,
protracted fur ten years, resulted in the vacating of the
Cliarter.

Randolph first appeared here in the middji' of .fune,
IGTG, with letter and instructions from the King, tiirough
tlie Council for Plantations, as its messenger. His two
chief points of inquiry concerned tlie known trifling with
and defiance of the Navigation Law of the realm liy our
traders, and the complaints of Gorges and Mason, as land
patentees, of trespasses by Massachusetts on their bounds.
It is observable that from this time very little reference is
made from abroad to grievances arising from the stern rule
of the theocracy ; while our authorities found themselves
occupied with many malcontents among themselves. A
monitory letter from the King in tlie spring of IGGti had
received but slight attention, and no reply, from the Court.
But more than " an hundred of the prineifial inhabitants"
of the C(jlony had petitioned the Court in October, advising
deference and caution in its proceedings.' This, too, was
slighted. We arc fully informed of Randolph's reception
by the magistrates, — he had no oj)portunity to meet the

' Hutchinson Papers, p. 51L

522 THE PURITAN AGE.

Hfiicral Court, — and of his course of proccedintrs in in-
tri^'uc, i<oeii inquisitorial investigations, and attempts to
sow discord, by two full and elaborate reports which he
made to the Council and liie King.' The niagistiates kept
him at ba}', telling him the matters of complaint were
tri\ial, and cduM In' easily disposed of. They offered him
no access to the Court, and would not even send back ijy
him such reply as they might make to tlii' King.

Randolph spent a little more than si.x wei'ks in the
country; and never did a fomenter of discord and mischief
use time and opportunity, wit and skill, more diligently
than he did. The authorities, wishing to be rid of him,
and not intending to use liim as their messenger, suggested
his return in the ship within the month. But lie said he
^v•as not ready to go — had other business — and the King
had allowed him two months' stay. In the interest of
Gorges and Mason he went to New Hampshire and Maine,
for evidence of real or alleged grievances from people there
from the usurpations of Massachusetts beyond their bounds,
and busied himself in combining and instigating the mal-
contents in ojiposition. These boundary troubles were
finally disfiosed of by money purchase and diplomacy.
Jiut all the annoyances, discords, and legal jiroceedinga
which resulted in the vacating of the Charter of Massa-
chusetts, after jirotractcd altercations and attempts to avert
the catastrophe, may be traced to the agency of Randolph
in this the first of his repeated visits. When he ne.\t
came, in f'ebruary, lOS.', , it was with a commission as Col-
lector of IJoston ; and this ofiicc intimates to us that his
keen intjuiries had 8])ecially been engaged upon the thriving
and illegal commerce from our ports extending to all
jMiints (it tlie ciiMipiiss, with profits from exports and im-
piii'ts defying the navigation laws of the realm, and even
[iretendinv' and bursting of authority from the Charter.

Randolph had been eharged to rejiiirt, under several

' lllltrliilisuli l*ajHTS, ]>(). 477 Oil.

DOWNFALL OF TRS COLONY CHARTER. 523

heads of inquiry, concerning the present state of New Eng-
land. His papers are of interest as furnishing a cijntem-
porary account on many subjects relating to the tlien
condition of the country, — the mode of government; the
laws as conformed or derogatory to those of England ; the
population and its elements ; the military with its officers ;
the castles and forts; the reputed boundaries and contents
of land ; relations witii the French and New York ; the
causes uf the existing war with the natives ; the jiroducts,
the trade, and commerce of the country ; taxes and duties ;
the state of parties and their feelings toward England ; the
ecclesiastical government and the college, with support
of the ministry, etc. Randol[)h certainly picked up a large
amount of detailed infurmation, with facts and statistics;
though as a matter of course under the circumstances his
reports are not always correct nor free from malignant
insinuations. It did not take him long to learn that

" the plantation of the Massachusetts bay. commonly called the cor-
poration of Boston, is the most liourisliing and powerfuU, and at
the present gives lawes to a great part of tliis country, by a pre-
tended cliarter from his late Majesty-"

Randolph was especially bent upon finding disaffected per-
sons weary with government in its rigidiicss, and ready for
a change. Nor was he unobservant of the nonchalance
and su[>erciliousness of the authorities toward himself
and his errand.

Intimations were given by some of the discontents to
Randoljih, which he heartily approved, that the way of
relief would be for the King to assume the direct control
of the Colonies, and to settle their differences by sending
over a General Governor. When the wily messenger,
whose qualities as a nuisance rather than aliilities for
mischief had attracted the notice of the magistrates, was
on his return voyage, the Governor summoned the Court,
which confined its attention to the complaints from Gorges

524 THE PURITAN AGE.

and Mason, and to the demand of the King for agents to
be sent to him. Elders were called in for advice whether
the Court .should send agents or trust to a written address.
The elder.s, laying stress on the demands of courtesy, ad-
vised the sending of messengers, and fortified their advice
by Scriiiture, as Rom. xiii. .5 ; Titus iii. 1 ; Judgi-s xi. 14.
The Court was not wholly pleased with this advice, but
after some delay it was concluded to send an Address to
the King, to be carried by Stoughton and Jjulkelcy, as rep-
resenting different party views. Their instructions, as
usual in such cases, bound them within very strict limits
and to specified matters of business, making them de-
l)endcnt upon further advices from Massachusetts, as their
reports from time to time should make necessary. The
agents, sailing on the last of Octolx^r, 1670, arrived in Eng-
land three months after Randolph. They did not reach
Boston, on their return, till December, 1079. Daring this
whole interval they were fretting under the restraints
and annoyances of their mission, longing for release and
for their home. Randoljih, with his reports and machina-
tions, was a thorn in their flesh. After debates on their
affairs, and offensive measures against Massachusetts pro-
posed in the Council, or Viy law officers, they would be sum-
moned for information, or to meet charges. They used
much adroitness, not a little casuistry, and a degree of
special pleading. But tlieii' task was bi'set with vexations;
for the actual lack of real loyalty, and the matured spirit
of independence and self-siilliricncy in Massachusetts, could
not be concealed by any blinds they could interpose. The
Court, to which they faithfully communicated information,
asking from it further instructions, was impatient iov their
return. A treasury exhausted, and erushing indebtedness
incurrrd by (hi' Indian \\'ar, made their support burden-
some. But, notwithstanding, the (^lurt could summon re-
sources of money to meet an emergency. The agents had
been secret ly instructed that if pecuniary purchase would

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHARTER. 525

alone buy off the claims of Gorges to Maine, to avail them-
selves of the opportunity. This was accordingly done,
by the payment of twelve hundred pounds, much to the
chagrin of the King, who was contemplating the acquisition
of tlie province for his natural son, Monmouth.

As preliminary to what was further to follow, the King
had written in April, 1G78, to the Court, rebuking it for
connecting with the oath of allegiance to himself one for
'• fidelity to the country." This was derogatory to liim,
and must be withdrawn. The Court, in rejily to this and
other royal injunctions through the agents, had expressed
its readiness to comply. But to tlie very end of the con-
test they were now maturing to its uua\ertiblc result, they
stoutly insisted upon their Cliarter rights as to the admis-
sion and qualification of freemen. One of the last resolute
utterances of the authorities asserted with empliasis that
view of the intent of tlieir enterprise in coming into this
wilderness, which lias been accejited all through these
pages. The Court will do anything to meet his Majesty's
wishes about their laws, " except nwh as the repealing
whereof will make us to renounce the professed cause of our
first comini; hither." '

The discovery and prosecution of the Popish Plot gave
another breathing space for the interests of Massachusetts,
by engaging the attention of the Council on other matters.

The returning agents, utterly wearied out and in dis-
gust, brought with them another letter from tlie King,
dated July 24, 1079.^ In this, referring to the limited and
unsatisfactory agency of Stoughton and Bulkeley, he re-
quires that two more agents, properly (jualified, be sent
within six months. The following sentence of the letter
would startle the Court : " For since the charter, by its
frame and contents, was originally to be executed in this
kingdom, and not in New England, otherwise than by
deputation," a perfect settlement of ditliculties can be

1 Records, v. 201. ' Hutchinson, Collection of Pnpers, p. 619.

52G THE runiTAN age.

m!i(lf' only in Kntrlaml. What niiirlit l)e said on tliis point
lias lici'M alix'aily antii'ipateil. The King expresses liis sat-
isfarti(]ii that, his order ahont the oath of allegiance has
heori coniiiiied with. lie re[icats his injunction, —

" ill r('S|n.'ct of frcMlom and liberty of couscience, so as those that
de.sire to .serve (iocl in the way of the Church of England lie not
lliercby made ol)noxioU8 or discountenanced from their sharing in
the govirnnient ; much less tliat tlicy, or any other of our good
siilijects (not being Pa[iists), wliu do not agree in the congrega-
ticinall way, be by law sulijected to fines or forfeitures, or other
incapacities, for the same; wliich is a severity to be the more
wondred at, whenas lil)erty of conscience was made one princi-
pall motive for your first transportation into those parts : nor do
wee think it titt that anj- other distinction be obscrveil in the
making of freemen, than that they be mf n of competent estates,
rateable at ten slnllingK ; and tliat such, in their turnes, be also
capable of the magistracy, and all lawes made voyd that obstruct
the same."

We must again remind ourselves that the sense in which
the King uses the jdirase, "liberty of conscience," and in
the meaning which it had for him, he utterly, though un-
intentionally, niisrepresented the intent and design of those
whom he addressed. The phrase witli the latter signified
the privilege — ratiier, the obligation — to govern them-
selves by a rule made oliligatory to them by the Bible.
They had seen too much of other exercises of the " liberty
of conscience" to disjiose them either to claim or to
allow it.

These last injunctions of the monarch fell disregarded
by the Court. So long as the Charter was ndained with
the privilege wliicb it granted of making freemen on its
own terms, the Court did not believe that the King had
any right to make even a suggestion in the matter. So,
till the Charter was voided, the theocratical rule was not
in any way relaxed ; and dissenters from the civil re-
ligious establishment here continued to be taxed for its

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHARTER. 527

support precisely as, the parties bein?: reversed, was the
case in England. Tlie Kins adds: "Wee have appointed
our trusty and well-beloved subject, Edward Randolph,
Esq., to be our collector, surveyor, and searcher — for all
New England," the object being to insure observance of
the acts of trade and navigation. The letter closes with
two reprimands, — one for the surreptitious purchase of
Gorges' province, which the King claimed should be made
over to him on reimbursement of its cost ; tiie otlier, that
the Court recall all commissions it has granted for govern-
ment in Mr. Mason's province.'

One may begin at thi.Si point in our historv ami read on-
ward to the opening of the War for Independence; or he
may invert the process, and beginning with the latter era
mny read backward to the date of these royal interferences
wiih the autonomy of Massachusetts, and the relations of
cause and efTect will by either method l)e equally well
opened before jiim. With Charles II. began that course
and series of measures which found their natural issue in
the policy of George 111.

Wo\ild it not have been wiser for Charles, averse as he
was to all annoyances and perplexities of business, and
having enough of trouble and anxiety on his own side of
the sea, to have given over all attempts at intermeddling
with his intractable colonial subjects ? Suppose he had
left them to themselves to manage their own affairs, would
he not have saved for himself and Ids successors much
fruitless controversy, di[)lomacy, and treasure, witli final
and humiliating discomfiture ? The territorial claim of
the throne of England to a transatlantic region, whose
coast had been sighted by an English sutiject, would have
been fully and consistently recognized in the establishment
upon it of thriving colonies of Klnglishmen, leaving their
relations with the parent state to the natural develo[)mcnt
of mutual interests. If it be answered that the Colonies

' Hiitchinsnn, Collection of Papers, pp. 519-S22.

028 THE PURITAN AGE.

iiimmIim! tlie f)rotfction and putronap-e of England, the re-
|il\' is rc;i(Jy. 'J'liov liail never asked for nor r(_'i!ci\ed any
Siicli lirl|i, hut were shrewdly cautious a^rainst sec-king or
siuiiiiiL'- it. The enterfirisc of tlie (.•oloiiists was solely at
tlieir own charges. As tn their collisions witli their French
and Dutcli neiglibors, tlicse were mainly the coiiseriuences
of hroils of the parent countricH at home; and so far as
was unavoiduljle, tlic colonists could have dis])osed cjf their
siiare in tjicui liere as they did in sharp work with their
sa\ age foes. Hut what we now read as history was to be
the actual, if not the natural or the preferable, develop-
ment of events.

lland(jlph, wjio had kept so keen a scrutiny nfion the
doings of tlie colonial agents in England, f(jllowed them
home, arriving in Boston, Jan. 28, ITiHO, a mouth after
them, having previously attended to some business in New
Hami)shire. The sagacious and more moderate of the
rulers of Massachusetts were well aware that affairs were
working toward confusion and disaster. There were many
causes for depression and anxiety. Following the exhaus-
tion and deljt of Philip's War, a disastrous fire in Dos-
tnn, Aug. S, 1G79, had destroyed property of a value of
tw>i hundred thousand pounds. Two successive General
Courts disjtosed of some of the lighter business required by
tlie King's letter. ]5ut concerning " lilierty of conscience"
to dissentients, the old arguments were stoutly stood for.
The matter of greatest embarrassment was the sending of
more agents or messengers, the dilliculty of finding fit per-
sons willing to go, the risk they would run personally, the
probable futility of their errand, and its cost. So the
Court apologi7,<'(l to the King for delay, and pleaded its
reasons and misfortunes. We had at the time no strong
jiarty of friends in England, and a few letters of entreaty
were written to men in |)ower. The usual consequences
of such a crisis in affairs followed here, — variances aud
antagonisms of o[)inion, party animosities or preferences,

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHARTER. 529

vacillations and hesitations, both among magistrates and
deputies. By order of the King, the number of the magis-
trates had been raised to tlie Charter provision, and some
of them were temporizers.

Raudolpli at once began his official enforcement of the
laws of trade, but was obstructed and balHed in liis seizure
of delinquent vessels by the intervenlion of courts and
juries. Tlic best evidence of his temper and purpose at
this juncture is found in his " Representation of the Bos-
toneers," made to the King in 1680, as follows : —

" 1. That the Bostoneers have no right either to laud or govern-
ment in any part of N. England, hut are usurpers, the inhabitants
yielding obedience unto a supposition only of a royal grant from
his late Majesty.

" 2. They have formed themselves into a commonwealth, denving
any appeals to England ; contrary to otlier plantations, they do not
take the oath of allegiance.

" a. They have protected tlie murtherers of your royal father in
contempt of your Majeetye's proclamation and letter.

" 4. They coin mouey of their own impress.

" 5. Thew,' put your Majestye's subjects to death for religion.

"6. Thev liid voyalantly oppose your Majestye's Commissioners
in the settlement of N. Ilamijshire. by armed force.

" 7. They impose an oath of fidelity upon those that inhabit within
their territories, to be true and faithful to their rrovernment.

"8. They violate all the acts of trade and navigation by which
they have ingrossed the greatest part of tlie West India trade,
whereby your Majesty is damnified in the customes, £100,UU0 yearly,
and the kingdom much more.

" All which he is ready to prove." '

And all which he might prove, because the charges were
true, excc[)ting the first, and by qualification tiie last. With
such a resolute and able agent of mischief <in the spot, —
and not without sympathizers, — the jjrospect for Massachu-
setts was indeed dark. Randoljih's charges to the King were
made the grounds of his advice that a writ of quo warranto be

' Hutchinson, Collection of Papers, pp. 525, 626.
84

530 THE PURITAN AGE.

issuer] apainst the Cliartcr. ITis bitterness and maligrnity
were intcnsilied by tlie contempt and liatc which he received.
Tiie Court denied hiin an attorney. His servants, watchinfr
a warehouse, were luobhed and driven oil'. His deputy was
turned out of doors. A ves.sel that he had seized was towed
away hy Jjoston nii'n, while lie had the (iovernors warrant
lor his act. He tells the Kin;;; that hi.s letters }iere are of no
more account than " a London Gazette." He seems to have
been frightened away from Boston for a while by fears of
imprisonment. His reports sent liome led theKin^r, in spite
of the slight cast upon his letters, to write another, dated
Sejjt. 30, 1G80. It is a nii.xturc, in tone and matter, of for-
bearance, chiding, and rebuke, and re(juire8 agents to be
sent in three njonths with full instructions and i)Owers for
settling all difficulties. It ends with a threat.' The Court
had sought to stiffen itself and its constituency foi- what
might come nc.\t, by ajipointing Nov. 25 and Dec. IG, 1080,
as respectively a day for Thanksgiving and for Fasting, and
had rearranged its military organization.

On the recei[it of the letter of the King last mentioned,
brought by John Mason, the complainant, a special meet-
ing of tlie General Court was summoned Jan. 4. l'j|^,
before which the letter was read. The Court, adjnurned
from day to day through a week, made some feint about
Mason's business, acknowledged its dilatoriness in the re-
visi(jn of the laws as dictated from England, chose by ballot
William Stoughton and Samuel Nowell to go abroad as its
agents, and adjourned tn February 22. Meeting that day,
the Ciiurt adjournrd again to March l(i. We are left to
imagine the increasing lack of harmony as to the course to
br pursued in the impending crisis ; for the C'ourt emraged
itself only with less important matters, and the single en-
try of interest on the record is the substitution of John
Richariis in jilace of Stoughton as agent, the latter being
too sagacious to \enture on the errand. The agents were in

1 llutrliiubon, CoUoctiou of Tiipors, pi». 523-525.

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHARTER. 531

no hurry to start on their mission ; and tlic Court, June 3,
1G81, addressed a letter to one of the Secretaries of State,
aecnuntint^ for the delay and pleading for consideration.
Randolph had got back to England by April IG, 1G81, fully
charged with ill reports and malicious advice. He found
the Privy Council engaged upon a proposition of a General
Governor for New England, to be jjaid by the King. Ran-
dolph had begun to recognize what he calls " an honest
party" in Massachusetts, — meaning those whom he was
using as his tools. It is unnecessary to trace in detail
every incident and measure which prepared for or delayed
the final blow against the self-government of JIassachusetts.
Randolph, with complacent self-confidence, advised the King
to a scries of proceedings in the efiecting of wiiich he pro-
posed himself as the medium. The princi[ial of these were
the setting of a (General Governor over New England, — bis
candidate for the ofiice lieiui: Culpepper, then in Virginia. —
and the prosecution of Massachusetts by a writ of qnn icar-
ranto. He speaks with great confidence of the party in bis
interest here.

Mcanwliile the General Court, meeting in Jfay, 1G81, with
apparent coolness, after transacting much miscellaneous
business, pave its attention to the objections against siimo
of its laws raised l)y leual ofliccrs in England. Assenting
to some alterations, — like making highway robbery a capital
offence, that " the law against Christmas be left out," and
exempting banished Quakers frcjm death if returning, — the
Court declined to change its marriage or its Sabbath laws.
That Monsieur Tonson Randolph appears in Boston again
December 17. f!ood Judge Sewall tells us of something
which he ought not to have seen, when, recording that
Randolph " and his new wife and family " attended the
South Meeting-house on the 25th he adds, " Mrs. Randolph
is observed to make a curtsey at Mr. Willard's naming
Jesus even in prayer-time."'

1 Juurijul, under date.

/jli'J THE PUniTAN AGE.

Ranil(il[ih biDU^dit with liiiu an additional commission
for liimsulf in tlic I'cvcriuc ollii-c, uii<] anotlier lettci' from
the Kinjj;, dated Oct. 21, lOKl. This in s(ver(; and rebukinj^
tones reiterated all former complaints and made additional
ones, deniandinfi; a^ain that fully em|)o\vered agent.s be
forthwidi sent to him, " in default whereof we are fully
resolved, in 'I'rinity Term next ensuinjr, to direct our Attor-
ney (Jeiieral to lirinj; a ijuo warranto in our Court of Kinf,''s
Bench, whereby our charter frranted unto y(ju, with all the
powers thereof, may be leji^'ally evicted and made void."'
The Kinj: had then rid himself of a Parliament, and was to
be feared. The Court, assembling Feb. 15, 1C8I, at once
addressed the King, beginning with conciliatory and cour-
teous terms, again referring to the straits and hardships of
their enterjirise, stating the changes made in their laws in
compliance with orders, and that, in obedience to his letter
of October, lG81,thcy had despatched Dudley and Richards
as messcnger.s. Tlie agents, however, did not sail till the
last of the following May. The instructions they received
before departing were carefully drawn and guarded. They
were to apologize for the minting of money in the Colony
as a matter of necessity. In a previous communication to
the King on this subject, the Court had asked liberty to
e(jntinue this minting, and had suggested to liim to offer
a stamp or device for the coins. The agents were to
report, —

"That wee have no law proliihljiling any such a.s arc of tlie per-
swasion of tlic church of England, nor liave anv ever desired to
worsliii) (iod accordingly that have been denved. For lil>ertv of
conscience wee have t)eeu, as wee tlien conceived, necessitated (o
make some severe lawes to prevent tlie violent and impetuous
intrusions of the (Quakers at their lirst coining into these parts,
and our procecilin^s thereupon were approvi'd liv his maji'stv iu
his grali<ius letter of .lune 'JH ; which al.so for divers vcares have
been suspended, upon the signitllcation of ins majesty's pleasure
* ChahinTs, Annals, jt. -i-lS.

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHARTER. 5.33

therein ; and as for the Annab;iptists, they are now subject to no
other poeiial statutes than those of the Congregational way.

" For admission of freemen, wee humbly conceive it is our lib-
erty, by charter, to chuse whom wee will admit into our owne com-
pany, which yet hath not binn restryned to Congregational men,
but others have been admitted, who were also jirovided for, accord-
ing to his majesty's direction, by a lawe made anno 1604 in answer
to his m.ajesty's letter of June "28, 1662; and the law restreyning
freemen to church members only, is repealed."

Otlicr instructions refer to matters of trade, appeals,
Mr. Mnsim's and Mr. Gorfres' affairs, etc. The Kinij liav-
ing said somethings alioiit " tlie regulation of the (rovern-
mcnt," as he had promised " not to violate or infringe our
charter," the agents are not to consent to anything of that
tendency, and are to say that, having received no instruc-
tions, they cannot entertain tlie matter.'

Considering the weighty business on which the agents
liad gone, tlie Court ajipointed June 22, following their
departure, for a Fast Day. Randoljih, who had been
watching the efforts of tlie Court to avert his own plot-
tings, and who had acquainted himself with the instruc-
tions to the agents, sent further desjiatches of liis
complaints in the vessel with tliem. In one of these he
had tiie effrontery to suggest to tlie IJishop of London
that some of the funds of the English Charitahfe Society,
for tlie benefit of the Indians, be used to support the wor-
ship of the Church of Iviglaiid in Boston. He intimated
the pliability and subserviency of a substitute agent, —
Dudley. Mis judgment of this degenerate son of the
stiffest and most bigoted of the first company of exiles
here. Gov. Thomas Dudley, was abundantly confirmed by
his later course. Born when liis fatlier had passed his
seventieth year, he lived to be a servant and agent of, if
not an effective instrument in bringing about, the changed
form of government for the Colony, of which his father

' Records, v. 34&-349.

534 TUE I'UItlTAN AUE.

was one of the boldest and HtcnR'st spirits. lie stands in
our histories witii stains upon iiis manhood and good fame.
It may he tliat his jiliauey was not all from self-seeking,
hut can in a measure he referred to j)olicy when he
discerned clearly that the forfeiture of the Cliarter was
inevitable.

'I'iie iigcuts, l>ent on thi'ir futile errand, had a tedious
voyatre of nearly three nionth.s. They [)re.sented their case,
as instructed, before the Pi-i\y Council, excusing their de-
lay, and defending the Colony and its government against
such charges as they wei'e ])ermitted to refer to by the
authorities behind them. They said that the Colony was
under a crushing debt of twenty thousand fMjunds from the
Indian war; that the Liturgy might now be used in w(jr-
8hi[) by such as wished it ; that Church of England men
could h(jld office ; and that the Acts of Trade and Navi-
gation were in force. The Records of the Court, begin-
ning with I'jHj, are crowded with tlie tokens of distress
and discouiliture, of batlled efforts, and of apprehensions
that what was dreaded was certain to befall. And as
stronirly marked in these Records are the evidences of a
still resolute will, of nerve and constancy, of a determina-
tion to hold out in the struggle, to prolong it in order to
defer the fatal lilow, — the only hope being that some
trouble or complication at home, as had heretofore favored
them, might interpose for their relief. Randol]ili, throuLrh
the whole critical period, passed to and fro, the diligent
agi'ut of mischievous or of loyal machinations on both
sides of the water. lie crossed the ocean at least fourteen
times, [le informed himself thoroughly of all tlu' el(>-
meiits, tlic jiersonal and party relations, the jiublic inter-
ests, the individual intrigues and ambitions, which entered
into the strife, and found delight, as was believed, in llie
sinijile exercise of his malignity.

He remained long enough at intervals here to watch the
working of the perplexities and dissensions he hud already

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHAUTEU. 635

provided for the autlioritics, trying to probe the secrets of
the vacillating, and to uciiuaint himself with the restricted
instructions given to tlie agents. Ue would most diligently
write letters, tilled with his mischief, to go by every out^
ward bound vessel, till he thouglit it necessary to make a
return voyage that he might personally watch, embarrass,
and circumvent the agents, as his schemes and plots ma-
tured. Meanwhile those two agents, under all their limita-
tions and annoyances, were not of one miml. They had
been specially matched by tlie Court as an offset to each
other, by their opposite proclivities, temperaments, and
party relations. Randoljih was sure that he would find,
if not a helping, yet not an obstructive, instrument in
Dudley ; while Richards was stoutly patriotic to tlu^ Colony,
and incorruptililc.

Nor was there by any means perfect harmony, unity of
purpose, accord in judgment, or resolution for the same
ends of patriotism, among the autliorities and the people
here. The siraiilicity, austerity of manners, and charac-
teristic Puritan spirit of the first age had become sensibly
(pialiried, in Boston csyiecially, and among magistrates and
others in ofiicc. It was not so, or to any such extent, in
the rural jiai'ts of the Commonwealth, where the primitive
tone and habits were rather strentrthening than relaxing
their sway. So the magistrates and the deputies were not
in full harmony. Englishmen only transiently resident
here for trade and commerce, and some of our enriched
citizens, had introduced the dangers and fascinations, as
well as the amcniiics, ui luxury and ease.

The Governor communicated to the Court in Februniy,
1G8^, a whole Pandora's box of troubles, — a letter of a
threatening tone from the King, with other documents,
copies of Randolph's complaints, and laments from the
agents. The Court, receiving the whole in a mass, had
but to adjourn day by day for deliberation, in order to deal
with each subject in detail. Meanwhile the familiar effort

53(J THE PUKITAN AGK.

for relief and renewal of resolve was sought in the appoint-
ment of a Fast. A law passed in October, 1G73, enjoining
a delay of a year for allowing the voting of a freeman other
than a church member, was repealed. From this time on-
ward, till the dreaded blow fell, each address and a{)f(eal
of the Court contained a more and more emphatic, often
jileading and pathetic, reference, with urgent insistence to
the primary purpose and motive of the hrst jiatentces, to
[ilant a Colony here, as dissenters from the Church of
England, under their own scheme of a Jjiblical Cfimmon-
wcalth. This was asserted to the last.

Thus, in a humble address — adulatory, gratulatory, and
in a supplicatory spirit — now sent to the King, praying
for consideration and delay in judgment, the Court insists
upon its covenanted Charter rights. The agents also are
further instructed, " joyntly, and not severally," to go
the utmost lengths in com]iliance and concession, — "to
accept of and consent unto such proposalls and demands
as may consist with the mayne ends of our predecessors
Ml their removall hither our charter," ' etc. They were not
to consent, under any stress, to any alteration of the funda-
mentals of that Charter. Again, in further instructions of
March SO, 1G83, we read : —

" Whereas, in onr rommission and power sent to you. one gcn-
erall limitation is tlic saving to us the main ends of our coming
over into this wilderness, you are therclvy principally to under-
st,and our lil)orties and [irivih'dgi'S in niattori of religion and wor-
ship of God, wliifli you are therefore in nowise to consent to anv
infrinc;ement of." '

Still further pri\ate instructions bid the agents observe
that the king's avowed i)urpose "of the regidation of this
government" cannot mean "an abolition of our charter,
or any essentiall part of it." Yet. "if nothing will satisfy
but the nulling our charter, or imposing of appeales," then

> Rfcords, V. 386. '^ IlnJ. , 390.

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHARTER. 537

they have liberty, " but are to be slow " in using it ; " to
tender the Province of Maine, or pive up any thing else,
but what our charter will not warrant our keeping." Yet
if the worst comes to tlie worst, and a quo warranto is to
proceed, they must take advice whether they will resist and
make dispute, — "be sure you s[iend little or no money
therein, unless you cann have very good assurance tliat it
may be substantially made and mainteyncd by law." '

These instructions were accompanied by a petition sub-
scribed by the inhabitants at large in tlirce of tlie counties
of the Colony, addressed to the King, the presenting of
which was left to the judgment nf the agents. This peti-
tion, tender and earnest in its su]iplicati()n, asks " that they
may not Ite dc])rived of those liberties and jirivileges whicli
they hold in such high esteemc, and liave themselves and
progenitors been at so great hazard and charge, and en-
countrcd with such extream difiicultyes f(ir the injoymcut
thereof." -

To complete here what is further to be said as to this
pleading with the King on the ground of (he religious
intent in the settlement of the Colony, I will anticipate by
quoting from the Records two more strong expressions of
it. In an " humble petition and address to the King,"
October, 1084, tlie Court pK'ads : —

" The cause and ground of our fathers fand of some vot livin;;)
leaving all that was deare tu them and us in Kn^land to come into
this wilderuessc. a land tlicn not inhahited (but liy the Indeans, of
whom wee purchased the rijht), was not out of dislike to the civil
government, which wee alwayes highly prized, anil accounted at
the least aequall to the best in the world, nor of the doctrine of
the church of England, which, for the substance thereof, we owne,
embrace, and professe ; but to avoyd the severity then exen-ised in
many places, because their consciences could not permit them to
conforme to some ceremonies of the church strictly imposed, ac-
counted by some indifferent things, but to them otherwise. And
1 lifcords, V. 391. « jbid., 388.

638 THK PURITAN AGE.

tlirrcfnre, to avovd ^^iviiij; offi-uri- tu liis iij.'ijie.sty, or uriiiiTpoiu;^
lliat Imrtlun tlicv wcTt- uiA uIjIc lo bcurc, tliey clio.si; ratlii-r, in a
(liiirt, unKrIy niaiiiicr, lu leave tliuir dearest native country, coin-
niitti[iu' tin iiif-elvi's to the Providence of the Most High, lo en-
comilrr the (hlliculties Ijoth of the Bea and the wihiernesse. This
his Majesty Charles the First, of lia[i|iy menjory [!], well under-
stood, who freely and f^raciously granted them a [latent for this
place, with the priviledges therein conteyned, to thern and their
succcs.sors for ever: and upon the confidence and security of that
rovall grant, transplanted themselves, where they and wee have
lived as exiles and great sufferers, grapling with marjy dilTiculties,
daiDgers," etc'

These certainly are strong, and apparently perfectly sin-
cere, anirniatiuiis, made as stating the ruling motives of
the founders of the Colony. Those who sec any reasons
for impugning this sincerity are at liberty, if they judge it
right to do so, to suggest that these affirmations are in-
genious after-pleas adroitly urged beyond the limits of the
truth.

Yet once more. At a session of the Court, July 21,
1G85, on tidings of the death of Charles II., a petition is
addressed to his lirother and successor, James II. Begin-
ning with respectful recognition and sympathy, the petition
recites : —

" Our fathers, and some of us with them, left their native land,
with all their pleasant and desirable things therein [with tlie usual
references to the ocean, the wilderness, the Indians, hardships, per-
ils, jioverty, etc.], and for the space of fifty years and upwards. —
all this was donnc and suffered that our fathers, and wee their
children after them, might worship God according to the dictates
lif our consciences, founded upon the sacred Scriptures, which lib-
erty of our religion wee csteenie more deare to us than our lives:
nor did they come hither hut with the approbation and princely
encouragement of vour majestie's rovall ancestors, decl.ared in
their letters patents, and afterwards often rattefied by the word of
a king," etc.^

1 Recuras, v. 4M, 457. ' Ibid.. 495.

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHARTER. 539

For the sake of bringing together these reiterated ap-
peals for warding oil the dreaded stroke, I liave sliglitiy
antieipated the main current of the narration. At the
opening of the General Court, Nov. 7, ItiyS, the Governor
communicated the doleful tidings. The harassed and
disheartened agents had got back to Boston, October 22.
Four days afterward Randolph arrived, elated with the con-
sciousness that after his long enmity and [ilotting he had
triumphed in his purpose. Befoi'e his return to England
again, Peceml)er 14, he had communicated his fatal ])apers,
now on the Records,' which the Court were then to enter-
tain. They included the writ against tlie Massachusetts
Charter, which had issued June 27, notifying the Com-
pany of the quo warranto, and summoning the defendants
to meet it at the Court in London. Jfandolph brought with
him two hundred copies of all the proceedings against the
Cliarter, which he was to distribute, and also a Declara-
tion of the King promising certain favors on certain con-
cessions. After watcliing the effect of these missiles,
Randolph was to return and make report. The colonial
assents in England, not being willing or able to undertake
the defence of their cause, liad been allowed to go home, —
not, however, to sail till after Randolph, as it was drsired
that he should reach here before them. Randolph liad
sought in vain to have a frigate and some military demon-
stration to accompany him, actually or feigningly suggest-
ing some possible resistance. It is not strange that some
of the firmest patriots in the Colony muttered mysterious
suggestions about seeking to put themselves under the pro-
tection of some foreign friendly power.

The reader is referred to fuller historical narrations than
the limited scope of these pages allows, if he would follow
the details closing the chartered existence of the Bay Col-
ony, and would trace the futile efforts of the distressed
but still desperately resisting authorities to avert their fate.

' Records, v. 421-123.

540 THE PURITAN AGE.

TiiufS and men, indiiciiccs and afroncies, on both sides of
tliu ocean, liad undergone great elianL'^es fi'Oin tlie condi-
tions under wiiicli, in previous tlireateniiigs of calamity,
tlie Court had averted it, by its stoutness, its policy, and
its acute inL'enuity of resource. 'I'be Kiii<r, now supreme
in liis arbitrary prerogative, rid of the liampering re-
straints of Parliaments, with the ready countenance of
liis advisers could work bis will. 'J'lie Puritan party, the
great and nuble leaders of wliieb were dead, and the re-
maining sympatliizers with which in the lower ranges of
society and influence were pcjwerless, cnuld no lontrer, as
iu the years of the Commonwealth, shelter and strepL'^then
the self-sufficient Colony. The pristine vigor, the har-
mony of sjiirit and purj)ose, the general equality of condi-
tion, the jirincijiles, habits, and simplicity of life, and the
resolute independence of the early years of the Colony,
had all yielded to deteriorating influences. The official
anil the private [lapers relating to the crisis reveal to us so
fully the incidents, passions, and feelings of the passing
years, that the reader is well-nigh made to share the an-
guish and dismay of the rumors, the cxficricnces, and the
alarms of the jieople, and to watch the distrust and bitter-
ness (if alienated sentiments attached by the [latriot partv
to those who openly or privately counselled submission to
the King. Dudley liad cither by such reckoning with him-
self as satisfied his judgment, — not to say his conscience,
— or by the lures of place and ambition, committed himself
against the spirit ftf his father and former favoring friends.
Seated among the magistrates on his return, he won a ma-
j(jrity of them to comjdiaiice. This upper body of the
Court voted another hundile Address to the King, and a
commission to more agents iusti'ucted to yield submission,
without contention with tlie King at law, conllding in liis
jiledge that his intent was only to r('<)id"tt' their govern-
ment, not to destroy it. Some of tlie deputies were ready
to consent; but a majority resisted, offering strong reasons

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHARTER. 541

and protests, and plying Scripture texts against the sin of
self-destruction either by suicide or fatal concession. 80
Randolph had to carry back with him the return that the
Court rejected the royal proposal. The Court, Dec. 5,
1G83, commissioned Robert Humphreys, an eminent Lon-
don lawyer, as their attorney, to make defence in order
" to save a defult and outlawry for the present." The
Court also made trial of some legal quibbles. It further
instructed Humphreys "to spinii out tlie case to the utter-
most," and to retain counsel, adding another ajjpeal to the
King. But the case had been already sjiun out till the
tenuity of its thread had been broken. Dudley received a
private letter in October, 1G84, informing him that a scire
facias had been issued from Chancery against the Com-
pany, to which answer was to be made witiiin si.\ weeks.
The Court made j)ublication, Jan. "28, 168^, that the Char-
ter had been condemned, and considering the " sad and
awfuU circumstances," a[>pointed a day of iiiimilialion, and
sent another letter to the King from "his [)oore and dis-
tressed subjecis." Charles died Feb. G, 1G8J. The event
was announced in the Court, May 7, and James II. was
proclaimed in Boston, April 20. The letter addressed to
him by the Court has alieady been referred to. Final
judgment was entered against the Charter, Oct. 23, l(i84.
Humphreys sent to tJie Court a copy of it in the following
May. For a long jieriod of uncertainty, of deep distress
and increasing dissension, the people waited for what was
to fullow. Dudley, associated with others as a commis-
sion, was appointed by the royal Council to the headship
of affairs in the prostrated Commonwealth. It was with
the bitterness of pain and resentment that the Court, meet-
ing May 20, 1G8G, complained tliat the communication
made to them by the commission was not addressed, as of
old, to the Governor and Company of Massachusetts Bay,
but to "some of the principall gentlemen and chief inhabi-
tants." " A royal covenant was broken."

542 THE PURITAN AGE

Tims after a practical trial of a little more than half a
ccntui\-, tlic experiment of a theocratic form of povcrn-
meiit, to be administered by statutes and ordinances (lath-
ered from the I5ible and digested into a creed covenanting
the administrators of it, was brouglit to a close. It was
terminated, n(.it dii-ectly liv the (■.\f)0sure of its impolicy
and injustice, nor Ijy tiic failure of the will, purpose, and
abilitv of its administrators still to maintain it, but by the
inter|iiisitiijn of external autimrity. 1 stated in the iieirin-
ning that the founders and legislators oi Massachusetts
had sought to establish a wholly original form of gri\ern-
ment, with novel conditions of citizenshifi. Xnwliere in
the world — not even in any part or age of Christendom —
had there been a precedent for it. If enough has not
been already said about the good faith and the thorough
sincerity of purpose with which the scheme was devised and
l)ut on trial, this would be shown to ajipcar in the unyield-
ing firmness and persistency with which it was maintained,
not only against those who ojiposed and impuirned it,
but also against difiiculties and a succession of frustrated
efforts to enforce it. which, as we view the case, might
have induced even its fondest approvers to abandon it.
But so far was this from being true, that the authorities
never lost faith or heart in it; they mourned their own dis-
comfiture, and alleged that the royal covenant so solemnly
plighted to them had been meanly dishonored. And so,
not in chamiiionship, or defence of these Puritan legisla-
tors, but recognizing sinijily the originality, the novelty,
the wholly uniipie and peculiar (jualities of their model for
government and their (jualilication for citizenship, it would
seem that we ought in fairness to adjust our judgment of
them. Our early I'uritanism, limited and transient as it
was, covering onlv one of our livi' half-centuries, has at-
tached an historic re|iule to our whole history. It is from
this lirief i)erioil nf theiicratic and Bible rule tliat, not so
mueh in grave and suber histories, as in liirht popular

DOWNFALL OP THE COLONY CHARTER. 543

essays and windy and flashy speeches, with their gibes and
satires, our State has been put under reproach. In many,
cheap flings from ill-informed anil superficial dcclaimers,
the dark and dismal period of our history is presented, and
even that with exaggerations, as if it were the whole of it.
As by English law traitors went to the block and heretics
to the stake, so many of us have heard from our orators
that Massachusetts hunted Quakers and witches. But
how stands the case in general history, and in our own
history ? There was not at the time, nor had there ever
been, a civil government in any State in Christendom
which did not legislate for and enforce doctrines aud prac-
tices of religion, u])hrld by penalties. The whule question
for us concerns the novel and jiiculiar way in which that
religious legislation was devised here. Our early Puritan-
ism differed in spirit and discif)line from otlier forms of re-
liirion under Papal and Protestant rule, not in being any
more or any less intolerant or persecuting than tliey were,
but in the motive, metlmd, ami dirrctinu nf its intdliTance.
.•Seemingly, Puritanism would have more to say for itself in
defending its intolerance, in that, instead of planting its
autliority on ghostly claims of ]irii'stly and suyierstitious
sanction, utterly incafiable of l)eing certified, and to be
accepted only by faith or credulity, it appealed to divinely
attested writings, readable and intelligiijle, whicli all
Christian people firofcs.sed to acknowledge and revere.

In these passing days wc find occasion to affirm that
while dissent, anarchy, and niiiilisni may make resistance
against arbitrarv and dcspntic governments, tbey sbonld be
silent under citizenship in a constitutional republic where
organic and statute law receives its authority fiom its own
members. It would seem that the Puritan founders of Mas-
sachusetts recognized the same distinction for their rule by
an acknowledged code. Under tlie Papal and Prelatical
sway they affirmed that human inventions, sacerdotal and
despotic enactments, and ghostly a.ssumptions claiming a

044 THE PURITAN AGE.

Divine authority, rested wholly upon the caprice or inter-
ests of lliose who de\ ised Iheni, and couhJ not be verified
by tests of liistorie proof or processes of inijtartial judg-
ment cir reason. These were airy, fioatinj:, and sandv
foundations, and could not conipid devout, free, and earn-
est men to i)uild upon Ihcm. l!ut Pu[jists and I'rela-
tists, as wi'll as ruiitans, liclievc'd that the Bible was the
Word (jf (!od, '-a sure testimony," olTering them a consti-
tutiiin under which they were all citizens. The corollary
thru folhjwcd : persecution and int<jlerance were unlawful
and wicked when exercised under Pa])al or Prelatical au-
thority ; liut they were justifiable, or rather ceased to be
persecution and intolerance, when the ma^jistratcs of a
Christian commonwealth requiri'd of its citizens to obev
" tlie Statutes, Laws, and ordinances of (Jod." Puritan-
ism held its citizens to obedience and alleciancc to the
Bible, just as the civil government assumes that all citi-
zens know the law and are bound to conform to it. These
intoIeiMnt primiplrs in the methods of all relipion mark
stages in the sti-uggles of progressive liberty, light, and
knowledge. We must certainly admit that an advance
was made, whrn the right of using intolerance and re-
straint was withdrawn from the support of priestly and
human inventions in religion, and was claimed to be al-
lowable iinly according to the rule of the " Word of
God." They answer in many points of resemblance to
the traditions, e.xftcriments, and errors in the theory
and practice of the liealing art. The Antinomians, Bap-
tists, ami Quaki'rs, under spiiitual treatment here, had
tlirji countiTparts at the time in invalids and patients
unilrr till' hands of the doetoi's, with pills and (lurgings,
sullrring exhaustive lilcriling, and denied air and water
on their fevered beds. I'liysieians of our time are prime
olTenders a^rainst the c'omiuandiuent to honor their fathers,
if it is to be taken in the \\'estminster covenant sense of
resjiect and deference to authorities.

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHARTER. 545

Haviiit;; thus painfully, and witli a purpose of fidelity,
traced the Puritan rule of our first lialf-century, we mav
naturally ask if the residuum and deposit and aftermatii
of Puritanism, its principles and its habits, have not left
us something more and better to appreciate, esteem, and
honor ? As has been stated on an early page of this vol-
ume, the influx of foreign and tincongenial elements in
this place "for the publiquc meetings" of the Puritan set-
tlers, has made it impossible for us to trace what would
have been its development here if the indigenous and ho-
mogeneous stock of its population had been left to itself.
The heritage was strictly one of Puritanism for two hun-
dred years. The last half-century has wrought a change.
Tlie [iroblem presented to those who liiLrhiy esteem their
Puritan heritage, and who do not welcome, but endeavor
peacefully to acquiesce in the ascendency of tliese uncon-
genial elements, is, whether the vitality and power of the
best elements of Puritanism can retain and exercise a
sway that will neutralize what is hostile, and assimilate
wiiat is harmless and good, in this infusion of foreign
agencies and influences. What, then, are the character-
istics of those qualities and principles of Puritanism which
survive among us and lia\e retained their ancient virtues '!
Some might question whether there is a survival of an\
true Puritanism among us. But in answer to this intimn-
tion, it might fairly be pleaded that any reductions, limita-
tions, and libcralizings of the spirit and usages of the old
Puritanism, which fairly resulted from the development of
its own free princi[)les, or from latent tendencies not at
first recognized in active exercise in it, would still leave its
essential identity unimfiaired. The Puritanism of today,
like that of the Reformation era, protests against and re-
jects the whole spirit of medievalism, all class distinc-
tions and privileges founded on prerogative and artificial
rank, and all the assumptions and tyranuy of ccclesias-
ticism and sacerdotalism. The leaven introduced by Mas-

85

54G THE PURITAN AGE.

sacliusetts Puritanism has jirovcd the most effective of all
ap;cncics in excluding those once supremely potent influ-
ences from the portion of this new continent governed by
the orf!;anic and constitutional laws of our nation, distin-
fjuishing it in these rnspocts from most of the other pov-
eiTunents of Christendom. What Puritanism did not
originally bring here of the full energy of these princi[)lcs,
has been wrought out by its own earlie.st provisions for
popular educatir)!) and fur individual independence, and
the rights of each for self-government. Even that element
in the early Puritan legislation and administration which,
in all the criticisms upon them, ranging from grave dis-
cussions and objections down to satirical and contemp-
tuous reflections, has received the severest condemnation,
has been most strangely misconceived and misrepresented.
That element, as assumed, was the supreme sway iiy dicta-
tion and authority of the clerical order. The elders are
alleged to have been the legislators and rulers of the Mas-
sachusetts theocracy. If what has been set forth from our
most authentic and instructive records as defining the real
position, agency, and influence of those elders does not
fully expose the error of that assumption, I have no dis-
position or purpose to challenge it any further. In a Bibli-
cal commonwealth, whose magistrates were the " Ministers
of God," it was but natural that the religious teachers, the
expounders of the .Scriptures through their s[>ecial learning
and knowledge, should be consultrd by those magistrates,
and that so far as they could throw light upon any ques-
tion submitted to them, their word should have weight.
From first to last, the Puritan elders had no t)tlier author-
ity or iidhicncc than this. The Protestant clergy, who
succeed them now all over this country, have precisely the
same sort of authority and influence, — subject only to
the essential qualification that the civil government and
tlic people do not accejit the i?ible as the statute-book, and
so do not depend U|ion clerical help for its interpretation.

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHARTER. 547

The respect and deference paid to these early elders was
secured by them through their character and abilities. It
was solely by these that they were put into office ; and the
functions of that office, with its privileges, were rigidly
conditioned upon those qualities in the men. Great as
their influence was among a people so much of whose life
and thought were engaged with religion, it cannot even
then be called professional or official, and it was as remote
as are the poles from including anything of a priestly or
sacerdotal character. There was a radical and a world-
wide difference between a Puritan elder, "a minister of
CJod's word," and every claimant of a priestly prerogative.
Papal or Protestant. The minister was but the niouth-
piecc of an assembly in pronouncing a sentence of admo-
nition or excommunication. He repudiated the [)riestlv
pretence that the benefit or efficacy of a sacrament de-
pended upon the official character of the administrant of
it. lie denied that anything he might do or leave un-
done, anything he could say or leave unsaid, of blessing or
cursing, would affect the relation between a human being
and his Judge. lie was liiinsclf utterly powerless, indi-
vidually, to impose sentence or judgment. He had no
right to demand that confession should be made to him,
nor would he venture to offer absolution. Had an in-
stance ever presented itself in which a Puritan elder had
presumed, standing by the death-bed of a sinner, to deny
to him prayer and mercy, to inflict on him the curses of
sacerdotalism, and to interdict him the hope of Divine
grace and forgiveness, that elder would have come under
civil process, and been made to smart for his offence.

So we may easily trace down from the Puritan elder the
succession in position and influence of the clerical order
all over our land, as well as in this commonwealtli, save as
new influences have come in with imported foreign ele-
ments, which the Puritans had discredited and left behind
them. When the Colony Charter was outlawed, the King

r)48 THE PURITAN AGE.

tlid not impose upon Massacliusctts tlie institution, disci-
]ilinc, and ritual of the Chuicli of Euprland ; hi; simply
enjoineil that all of liiw sulijcct.s who desired to do so
should be free to eniiajre in it.s coinniuuiou and worship,
without prejudice to their civil ri^dits. Substantially
under the furm of '.'■overrinient substituted for the colo-
nial, what is called the voluntary system in relig'ion re-
ceived its sanction. Tliis system, imposed on jtrovincial
Massachusetts by authority from without, and afterward
adopted and approved by independent State legislation
from within, has resulted, by the development of time,
experience, and the progress of practical wisdom, in the
complete divorce of Church and State. The voluminous
pajres of our statutes, showing the processes by which that
result has been reached, are interesting and instructive.
The old, rigid, compulsory legislation for religion slowly
lingered in its traditional hold upon the community,
bracing itself for a time on the plea of its necessity to
sustain civil order and to promote good morals. Having
once required that all tlie people should be ta.^ed for and
should respect the ministry and dispensation of religion
under one and the same form, it paused awhile on the com-
promise of freedom to sujijiort any preferred form, pro-
vided that it were some ministration respectably recognized.
Then, within the lifetime of those now on the stage, the
citizen received full freedom, in thought, observance, and
purse, to look upward and inward for his religion. Such
would long since have been the result in the mother coun-
try, haii the principles of Nonconformity prevailed there.
Meanwhile the clergy in Massachusetts retain and exercise
all that was best, or only good, in the influence of their
Puritan predecessors. Character and abilities are still the
conditions of tlieir accepted service, while their oflicial
prestige is a nullity. True, our modern elders are not
called in to "advise" the magistrates; but they llnd their
i-epresi'utatives as chaplains and members in the Icgis-

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHARTER. 549

lature, in constitutional conventions and in electoral col-
leges, and in the opening of civil courts and the inaugura-
tion of municipal governments.

The natural and logical results of the independency and
of the educational institutions of our old Puritanism have
wrought in two opposite directions. One of these has
been in the extremes of individualism, with every form of
dissent, variance, and freedom in Ijelief and speculation :
the other is in a reversion, a looking back for mental peace
and spiritual rcsnurce to ancient beliefs and sanctities of
observance. There are those, even of Puritan lineage,
though with adopted views alien from their inheritance,
who view this fragmentary, scattering division of what
they believe should be one fold of inclusive discipleship
as, to use their own term for it, a " scandal " to all "who
profess and call themselves Christians." Reference has
been made in an earlier page to a kindly intruded, how-
ever hopefully advised, scheme proposed by some of these
for a reconciling process in the interest of what they sujv
pose to be imijlied by " Ciiristian unity." The last cen-
sus gives us rather more than three thousand clergy of tiic
Protestant Episcopal denomination owing "canonical obe-
dience " to some fifty " bishops." The proposition is, that
the sixty or seventy thousand other ministers of the vari-
ous Protestant denominations should go to those liishops
to receive from their hands the tactual impress which
shall convey to them the sacramental grace, '' the gift of
the Holy fJhost," and the power to exercise " a valid min-
istry." Those wlio arc now in life may not exjK-ct to
see that exorbitant proposition accepted. Some of these
bishops are the sons, or frcjm tlie families, of reverend
men, wlio fulfilled a faithful ministry witlicjut this " sacra-
mental grace." It is conceivable that one or more of
these elders might have survived to find their sons in-
vested with the prelatical office. Then it would have been
a spectacle to see the aged parents kneeling before their

550 THK PURITAN AGE.

children to have a defect iii tlieir DiTicial ministry supplied.
Yet tlie Episcopal denomination may naturally make tlie
most of what is suijstantially its only distinguishing claim.
Uur Protestant bishops are but the shadows of Iilnglish
prelates, and for the rest tiieir fellowship has yielded to
the modilied Puritan Congregationalism. No patron, not
even a bishop, has " the right of [ircscntation " to a parish.
Each congregation has an inde[>endent action in the choice,
the tenure of ofiicc, and the removal of its minister. The
laity divide with the clergy all the Itusini'ss of its conven-
tions. It may be well also that if, in the one Ciiristian
Church represented in our country by so many branches
and twigs, there is an exclusive claim to the vital sap, there
should be a rivalry among the claimants. So as the old
sacerdotalism in its full vigor has been imported into our
country, reduced manifestations of it may serve as checks
and safety-valves.

Put this reversion to the spirit and practice of the old
sacerdotalism will turn the thoughts of many serious and
earnest persons of kindly and generous breadth of spirit
to quite a different conception of " Christian unity '" than
that of an organic ticketing and labelling by one official
mark of those who may partake of "one spirit" under
80 " diverse operations and manifestations." The pre-
ceding pages have shown us how men and women,
profoundly and intently exalting religious belief and ob-
servance into the all-absorbing interest of their life, ex-
ceptionally j)ure in morals ami liabits, and with kindly
hearts and helping hands in all neighborly offices, well-
nigh made a pandemonium of a little struggling town
on the edge of a wilderness. It was all because, instead
of being drawn into unity by the like virtues and gi-nces
just recognized in them, they tliouglit they ought all to
believe together, or to (juarrel together, on a few jioints
of belief or observance wliieh dilTerenfly engaged their
consciences or judgments. And such will ever be the

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CUAIITER. 551

result — though never again with h^gal penalties of fine,
banishment, the prison, and the gallows — of all attempts
to force doctrinal or ritual observances upon men and
women of intelligent minds, whose proclivities, tem-
peraments, tastes, ranges of thought, imagination, and
fancy decide for them their preferences among all the
phases of truth and the attitudes and reverences of faith
and worship.

We have well learned, or ought to have learned, the
lesson that inborn or inherited qualities, tastes, and tem-
peraments, with differences of strength, freedom, and con-
fidence in the exercise of the intellectual powers, courage
or fear in trusting to the ventures of inquisitive reason,
and facility or difliculty in the tendencies uf the believing
faculty, will inevitably result in wide divergences in all
that concerns religious belief and observance. The ritual-
istic temperament and the Quaker temperament are still
reproduced in living generations. As Sewall has told us,
poor Mrs. Randolph, in her drear and cold surroundings in
the South Meeting-house, amid the bare rigidity of its ser-
vices, took a gleam of satisfaction in courtesying at the
name of Jesus in the cider's [)rayer. It was on Christ-
mas day, which passed wholly without recognition. She
missed all that was dear and wonted to her in her sweet
method of devotion. One of inborn Quaker temperament,
attending upon a modern ritualistic service, with his free
and restless sj)irit, would see only what was formal and
mechanical — he might even pronounce it lackadaisical —
in the changing of attitudes, the intervals of silence, the
responses of the worshipi)er8, and the gliding of surpliced
priests across the chancel, one after another, to divide be-
tween them the sentences and paragraphs of prayer, col-
lect, lesson, Gospel, and Epistle. The Quaker's questions
would be. Might not one do all this without distraction or
parade ? Does this formality look toward God, or men ?

The early colonists of Virginia, such as they were, with

552 TUK I'UUITAN AGE.

110 Puritanical scruples, used the service-book of the Eng-
lish Cliurcli, constraints and punishments no less severe
than those in force in Massachusetts being used to compel
attendance. Our Puritans, leaving that book behind them,
and becoming wonted to their difl'erent woi'shi|), worked
themsehes up to a disestecni and couteniiit of it which led
them to forbid its use. A strange e-\.hibition of erratic
human nature! Yet their own way was wisely conformed
to their needs and exigi'ncies. Many of those wh" have
been trained l>y a liturgical service connect witli it the
fondest, tenderest attachments, and would be desolate
without it. Those who know the service only by occa-
sional observance are perhaps the most impartial in their
judgment of its use and sufficiency. They appreciate its
richness and beauty of tone, sentiment, and language, its
calm dignity and its devoutness of spirit, and the compass
of its devotional range and expression. But the Puritan
estimate, free uf their grievance about it, is still enter-
tained, and with reasons for it. The formal, unvaried
service finds its lit and helpful use in the placid routine
of life, in the orderly relincments and dignities and comfort
of settled times. But as the Puritans found it, it seems
painfully inadequate in critical and distracting experiences,
where spontaneity, fervor, and yearning sympathies be-
tween men and women, and between men and women in
their seeking for (iod, crave the familiarity of unstudied
utterance. One of the must objectional)le elements of the
l}()ok Service to those who occasionally participate in it is
the blind and su])erstitious reading by rote the whole of the
Book of Psalms. Why, because in that strangely miscel-
laneous gathering of psulnnxly there are strains of most
sublime and tender devotion, the very anthems and raptures
of fiiet\, sliould the whole of it lie held sacred? There
can be no edifying nutriment for heart or mind in its
(il)scure, meaninLdess, and heathen ingredients, its un-
christian, vindicti\e, and imprecatory contents.

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHAKTEB. 553

Our narration began with the strong and passionate
assertion of the spirit of Nonconformity, against principles
and usages of human device and imposition, in religion.
That spirit drove those whom it mastered into exile in the
wilderness, that they might make trial of methods which
their consciences constrained them to follow. Our narra-
tion closes with the enforced teaching to those exiles of some
further lessons, in the impracticability and wrong of their
own imposed Conformity. The struggle that advanced here
was but another phase of the issue opened iu England at
the Reformation between the oliedience which was enjoined
as of divine right, and the freedom that was claimed as of
human right. Only here the claim was shifted from an
appeal to divine right as set forth by a Churcli to the au-
thority found for it in a Holy Book. So 1 liuve ventured
on a previous page to state as one of tiie results of the
failure on trial of a Bil)lical commonwealth here the de-
monstration of a trutli which will startle and offend some
persons, and which therefore I hope may not be misin-
terpreted. That demonstrated truth I understand to be,
that no organic form of civil government and administra-
tion can wisely or safely base itself on religion, unless it
may be that religion be taken in the broadest and vaguest
sense which it might have in an infinite diversity of inter-
pretations. By this is meant that statutes and laws must
be content with claiming only a human and mundane au-
thority. Behind their wholly secular phrasing and defining
there may be in tiie hearts and minds of those who enact
them, and of those lield in obedience to them, any degree
and amount — and the more the better — of a reference to
an assumption and belief of a divine sanction for them. It
would have been well for all Christendom had it always
()roved true that " rulers are ministers of God for good."
But experience has compelled us to interi)ret the asser-
tion as meaning that it is iyitenJed, or desired, or Jit-
ting, that rulers should be such representatives of Deity.

.054 THE PURITAN AGE.

Tlio rulers of Ma.ssacliusctts, like so many others, fell
short of this lofty ideal. And now, as tiiught hy expe-
rience, we iiave learned that not " Moses his Judieials,"
nor even tlie " Precepts of Jesus Christ," can be enacted
or enforced in civil government. And this for two rea-
sons, if fui' no other, — that those who are to be gov-
erned, or to govern themselves, are not agreed as to
the authority of tliose religious codes ; and that those
who own that authority differ most widely in interprets
iiig them. Laws to be compulsory in their authority, and
to be enforced by penalties, must confme themselves to
secular interests and sanctions. It is the province of re-
ligion to do its work on the purposes, motives, and judg-
ment of those who make the laws, that they may be just
and reasonable, and to induce obedience to tiiem.

The wliole tendency of all the free, vitalized, earnest, and
unchallengeable working of thought, speculation, and fancy
now is t<j promote individualism and independence in the
full range of matters in which uniformity or unity was
once demanded and enforced by penalties. The thousand
little rills and streams of thought and belief which once
served for isolated communions and sects, have found their
way to rivers which lead on to the ocean, where navigation
is no longer tiy landmarks, but by tiie piloting of the open
heavens. Jfeanwliile that this disintegration and individ-
uality in religion are rendering chimerical any fond scheme
for restoring an " organic unity " in belief and observance,
the spirit of a broad and sympathetic humanity in its mani-
fold workings, in all its agencies of reform, renewal, re-
dress, purification, and benevolence, is drawing human
hearts to a unity wliich human intellects will never
realize. The noblest service done by the Quakers was in
ilemanding recognition for st)me of the most vital and
benedictive forces of the (^hristian religion whicli were
latent in it liut unrecognized. There are more such in-
spirations wiiich are hnding their prophets and mis-

DOWNFALL OF THE COLONY CHARTER. 555

sionaries. Among them is one presenting to us in the
Oospel record the sublimest figure of impersonation to
be found in all literature, where the great Teacher,
" and all the holy angels with him," seated upon " tlie
throne of his glory," dispenses eternal allotments, not for
beliefs or conformities, but according as humanity in its
woes and straits and needs has or has not been minis-
tered to.

NOTE ON THE "SALEM WITCnCRAFT."

The limitations of time and of subjfct-matter proposed for
reliearsal in tliis volume would not have required an\ reference
to the tragie and appalling incidents through a portion of a single
year, in one of our villages, which have passed down into history
under the darkest shadows of our first century. The trials and
executions for alleged witchcraft in Salem, in 1(J'J2, have no direct
connection with the theocratic government of Massachusetts, nor
with anything special or peculiar in the characteristics and legis-
lation of the Puritan colony. The loss of its first C'liarter had,
after a troubled, unsettled, and revolutiouarv interval of some
seven years, found the former Colony a province of Great Britain.
Under its new Charter the people were deprived of the right of
self-government. It was under the administration of the first
of the provincial governors, and by a special court appointed by
him, the legality of whicli has always been questioned, that those
trials and executions, under the dismay of a sporadic delusion and
frenzy, visited their sad experiences upon some twenty victims.
The Governor, a rough and illiterate, though a marvcllouslv for-
tunate, adventurer, with not so much knowledge of affairs of civil
government as he had of astronomy, — for he was a good navi-
gator, — had just acceded to office, througli luck and favoritism.
The exercise of sound discretion and decided caution in him might
have smothered the frenzy at its outburst ; but havintj allowed
tlio spark to kindle, he left the province temporarilv on official
business, and on his return put an arrest upon the dreadful pro-
(redings, seeniinglv nuived to inlcrpose rhidlv because his own
wife had been " criecl out upon " as one of the culprits. The
reference wliich 1 shall make to this direful subject will be brief.
Inilci'd, I hhoiild have wliolly passed it liy, were it not thai 1 find
in it a v<'ry striking illustration of the strange and perverse wav,
the crooketliiess of ojiinion, and the falsity of judgment with which

NOTE ON THE SALEM WITCHCRAFT. 557

many matters of early Massachusetts history have been treated
by sciolists, by very ignorant and superlioiul critics, and by some
uncandid, not to say ill-tempered commentators. What passes for
history, and what serves for many keen gibes of reproach in tra-
dition and popular amusement, have found material for a revel
of license in dealing with the theme of Salem witchcraft.

No one would be moved to put in a plea or to raise a protest in
dealing with this subject on any such ground as that of misstate-
ment, exaggeration, or over-darkening of the cruel and iniquitous
proceedings at Salem under the delusions and frenzies of a panic.
The veritable history of tlie event and its incidents is unrelievable
in its horrors. Whenever reader or historian, moved by a sense
of painful interest or duty, acquaints himself with the facts of the
"case and brings before him the pangs and woes of innocent vic-
tims, there is no occasion for stirring him to indignation against
the actors, or to sympathy with the sufferers ; and he may even
feel the risings of a desire to visit some post-mortem penalties
upon the prime wrong-doers. There is no need of retelling the
story to reduce its distressing melancholy, nor to lighten the bur-
den of reproach and condemnation which must rest somewhere and
upon some agents in those liarrowing incidents. But there is (jnc
signal wrong and error connected with many rehearsals of the story,
for a participation in which those who are either with or without
the candor or the information requisite in such a case arc justly
to be rebuked. This censure is deservcil liy all those who speak
of Salem witchcraft as if it were a special, peculiar, ami uiii<|iic
product of the Massachusetts theocracy, the flowering out and full
fruitage of I'uritaiiisni. The delusions and atrocities connected
with that distressing episode in our history had no relation what-
ever to the distinctive qualities of Puritanism, but involved in a
common share in superstiticjus and cruelties all classes and ranks
of men and women, of every party in religion. Papal or Protes-
tant, and of no religion. Philosophers and physicians, popes,
prelates, divines, statesmen, judges, and monarchs, were in full
harmony of belief all over Christendom with those who were
parties to what transpired amid the forests and the clearings of a
farming village in New England.

A thought and suggestion have come to my own mind in reflect-

hba THE PDHITAN AGE.

inn; upon this repulsive subject, which I have never found to
ho f.xprtBsptl or intiniatfci by any who hna writtf-n upon it. It
FfonLs to me so ri:iturul and obvious tliat I will venture to utter it.
It is this. 'I'ukini; into view all the facts and circumstances of tlie
Ciise, Massaciiusctts may be regarded as having been most marvel-
lously and propitiously, we mav even say with partiality and
favoritism. (le:ilt with in the apportionment to her of so small a
share in tin- liorrors of a world-wide ami erui-l su|ierstition. One
who has been at pains to inform himself, in particulars and details,
concerning the peculiar ccjnditions and exjieriences of private,
domestic, and social life in the Massachusetts towns during our
first century, will, I am persuaded, find much reason for wonder,
congratulation, and even boastfulness, that while this Colony, as
was inevitable, caught from the Old World a spark from the uni-
versal combustion working there at that period, the flame was so
confined in space, and so rertrictcd in time, wher. it broke out here.
Most merciful and lenient was the visitation upon ^^lassachusetts
of the delusion which so ravaged with barbarous and revolting in-
humanity nearly every scene of human life in the motlier country.
For myself, I am deeplv impressed by the contrast between what
was realized and what might most naturallv have been experienced
here. Consider the circumstances and conditions of life in our
early rural settlements, and the marvel will be that witchcraft
was not an universal, indigenous, inveterate, and chronic infliction
in every one of them. There was in each of them solitariness
and isolation, sharp deprivation, and hard experience. There were
lonely hours for individuals, for much brooding over a limited
range of thoughts. The scenes of Nature around were full of
gloom. The rigors of winter were stern and of long duration.
The woods were filled with savage forms, whom manv regarded as
imps and agents of the Evil One, and who were believed to be,
through the Powwows and sorcerers, his worshipjicrs. There
were no means and no allowance for nlaxation, amusement, or
jollity. The lines of a familiar modern hymn, —
*' R4']i^i(iii never wiis ilt'signcj
To make our pleftsurea less," —

had not then been sung, and the pleasurable quality of Puritanism
was not presented in prayer, sermon, or psalmo<ly. Under these

NOTE ON THE SALEM WITCHCRAFT. 559

circumstances one might have expected to find a widely extended,
and as I have said, a chronic presence of the phenomena of
witchcraft. AVe might have come to take it as a matter of course
that each of our many scores of town histories should have de-
voted an early chapter to the cases of witchcraft that had been
noted and dealt with in it, the names of culprits, and the death
penalties. If the history of every town in England and Scotland,
to say nothing of those on the Continent, had been written with
the same minuteness of detail, the exceptions would have been
very rare to the universal recognition of the presence of witch-
craft, and the atrocious proceedings against the victims of the
delusion. The number of such victims on the records of those two
countries exceed thirty thousand, and, taking those on the Conti-
nent into the count, run up into hundreds of thousands; and the
delusion with the woful and appalling frenzies, j)aiiic8, an<l judi-
cial cruelties which it involved held its terrible sway for several
centuries. Sir AVilliam Ularkstone gave iiis full countenance to
the reality of witchcraft seventy years after the .Salem tragedies
had closed, and the statutes of England still recognized it as a
punishable crime.

All the circumstances and conditions which furnished the phe-
nomena of reputed witchcraft in the towns, villages, and hamlets of
England and Scotland might well have been supposed to present
themselves in Massachusetts. A lonely, deformed, or ill-favored
old woman, un wedded, sour and woe-begone by some bitterness in
her lot, might here as well as there have cast an " evil eye " or
muttered a malediction which caused a neighbor's cow to cast her
calf, or the dough in tlie kneading-pan to lose its sweetness, or
one of a hundred mishaps and maladies to fall upon any one of
those whom she envied or hated. The gossip of neighbors, helped
by credulity and dreary superstitions, would readily catch and in-
tensify the rumor of such malignant influences. All mysterious
and startling events, the repetition and succession of calamities in
one household or community, infelicities of domestic life, accidents
and portents, which furnished the accusation of demoniac spells
all over the homes of Europe, might have found their material and
opportunity in every village of Massachusetts. Everywhere in
Europe the tests, the kind of evidence required, the modes of pro-

500 THE PUUITAN AGE.

oct'diiiij for <liMlii]i:; with witclicruft, and llu; judiciul professes and
Klidckiiij; tortures and executions were always kept in ready and
etiicieut use. I low was it that Massachusetts was to such an
extent and decree delivered from a full proportionate share in such
horrors ? 'llie question is really worth pausing upon. Should we
not refer the exemption of our towns to such an exceptional extent
to the kindly neii^hljorlv relations, the sympathetic ties, the mutual
interest, confidence, and helpfulness of the people ? There were
unfortunate persons, men and women, deformed, ill-tempered, un-
lovable, half-witted specimens of humanity in most of these towns,
but they were commiserated or borne with perhaps even more
tolerantly than often in these days.

In view, then, (jf ^hat might have been, and what the people of
our first century would have regarded only as their share in a uni-
versal exposure to the wiles and macliinations of the Evil One. the
tragic events which transpired in Salem Village ought not to be
rehearsed iu historical relation, as thev too often have been, as a
signal monstrosity of Massachusetts Puritanism. Everything that
occurred there in the [laroxysm of a panic, in outrages upon a
common humanity, in the alarm and consternation of a fT>mmunity,
in the mockery of judicial proceedings, and in the execution of
innocent victims, might be paralleled in everv feature and incident
in hundreds of places in the Old World. What indeed should
seem startling or deplorable that transpires when Satan is believed
to have borne down upon a group of luiusebolds, jnittiiig bis venom
and malignity into the hearts of little children and their parents,
and poisoning the springs of love and trust and mercy? Any-
thing special, peculiar, or intense in the phenomena of the delu-
sion ill .Salem may be considered as to a degree offset by the con-
centration there alone, and within seven months of a single year,
of the share of Massachusetts in the visitation of a world-wide
calamity which liiji^ered in Europe long after its terrors had ceased
here.

There had been four executions for reputed witchcraft in Mas-
sachusetts previous to the Salem tragedies. They were those of
Margaret Jones in 1048, of Mary Parsons in ICiSl, of Ann Hilv
bins in Ifi.'iri, and of (loody Glover in 1088. These cases in no
respects differed from those common to Christendom. The ingre-

NOTE ON THE SALEM WITCHCRAFT. 661

dients mingled in the witches' caldron at Salem Village were of
the uncanny sort which needed only to simmer together, stirred by
malignant hands, to effect their baneful spells.'

Some petty feuds and bickerings, with gossip and grudgings
between neighbors in a partially reclaimed wilderness village, with
controversies about local rights, had prepared material for mischief,
awaiting a provocative agency for fomenting it. An ill-tempered
and ill-balanced minister in contention with his flock which wished
to be rid of him, though not the prime, was a secondary agent in

' Then* is no subject for a monograph in the liistory of Maasarliusetts
which has been treated so ably, fully, and faithfully as has the distressing
delusion in Salem, by one remarkably qualified with all the faculties, means,
and opportunities for obtaining and presenting exhaustive information con-
cerning it. This was the Uev. and Hou. Charles W. L'pham. After a score
of years of service as minister of the First Church in Salem, he resigned his
office on account of the loss of his voice. After a period of rest, he continued
for thirty years, to the end of his life at the age of seventy-three, in the [lursuit
of his labors as a diligent and accomplished scholar, and as an earnest and
patriotic servant of the public. He represented Salem three years in our
Legislature, was in the Slate Senate three years, two of them as its president,
and a Representative in the Thirty-third Congress of the United States. Ho
was a most honored citizen of Salem, thoroughly versed m its history, proud
of the traditions of its old time local importance as the birthplace and home of
scholars, jurists, and eminent merchants, whose commerce was carried on over
the whole woild. He felt very deeply the scandalous injustice by which the
village suburb of the town of Salem had in reputed history been made so sig-
nally to t)ear the odium connected witli the witchcraft delusion, as if its horrors
and tragedies there had not been experienced oil over Christendom. It was
not to clear or relieve the town of the ill-report of what had really transpired
there under the frenzy of a short-lived panic, but to expose the folly and
falsehood of the distinctive reproach attached to it, as if the melancholy detail
of what had occuiTed there were not paralleled in every feature of horror in
every country of Kurope for a j>eriod of two centuries. Thus he was prompted
to give years of diligent study, research, and lalior to the preparation of his
profoundly instructive work entitled " Salein Witchcmft : with an Account
of Salem Village, and a History of Opinions on Witchcraft and Kindred
Subjects." (Two Volumes. Boston, 1867.) So thoroughly, judiciously, and
impartially, and with such wealth of learning and compa.-a of sound philoso-
phy, does the author deal with his repulsive but compulsoiy theme, that no
further treatment of it is requisite or desirable. Its documentary materials,
its local identifications, its minuteness of details, and the calm, candid, and
catholic spirit in which the work is written, claim the gratitude of its

readers.

36

5G2 TUE PURITAN AGE.

that mischief. He huJ iti his family two native African slaves,
liusbaml and wife, .lolm aiulTituba, — tlie latter a name to conjure
with, — both tkillc<l in th(- " sorcery, nc(;roinan<-_v," and supersti-
tions of their race. A circle of younj; f^irls, unwatched and wilful,
more than one of them dejiraved, had spent many dreary winter
evenings at the minister's house with his dauizhter, a cliild of nine
years. They practised palmistry and furtune-tellinj;, and seem to
have become ex])erts in some of the tricks of the seances and
•• materializations " of our day, wliicli mark the donkcydom or
assliood stage in our social developnKMit. Surprises, relations, de-
lusions, frauds, minglings of audacious lyings and malignity, were
all thrown into tlie caldron. Marvels of invention and exaggera-
tion were added, and the report went forth of " afflicted children "
pinched and tortured by invisible hands. It was not a minister,
but a physician, who being called in for advice, first spoke the
ominous word "witchcraft." The Evil Hand, with its demoniac
cunning and its mocking triumph for a season over all the power
and resources of common sense, intelligence, and agencies of sober
piety in the little community, had got the mastery. The conster-
nation spread over an extending circle. Imagination wrought in its
wildest license in conjuring spectres in homes and fields, in high-
ways and churches, by the table and the bedside. Satan bad been
allowed for a time to throw off the shackles of his pit, and to go
abroad getting signatures of blood in his l>ook. Some, nut always
weak-minded persons, were so bereft of wit and their real per-
sonal consciousness, as to believe that they had a duplex exist-
ence, and confessed to having made coveniint with the Devil.
Circumstances, scenes, incidents, and the same inextricable inter-
minglings of delusion, falsehood, and malignity which characterized
the witchcraft panics tlie world over, and the same judicial pro-
ceedings, with a besotted contempt of all rules and safeguards in
receiving sworn testimony, were repeated here, the judges and
courts fiillowiiig English precedents. The subject neither invites
nor demands furlher relation. The very int^^'nsity ami agony
which marked the spell of frenzy in this communily, stamped out
the Kujierstition and the enormities of inhumanity which en-
shrouded it here, and gave us an immunity while Europe con-
tinued unilcr its gloom.

NOTE ON THE SALEM WITCHCRAFT. 5G3

The dismay and insensate panic of this short-lived delusion here
have been often paralleled in all their features at other times and
in other places. They were aggravated tenfold iu the Gunpowder
and the Popish Plots in England. Incidents in our American his-
tory most nearly resembling the tragic experiences in Salem are
the two so-called " Negro Plots " in New York, occurring respec-
tively in 1712 and 1741, — the victims in each of them exceeding
in number and in the barbarity of the penalties and sufferings
inflicted upon them the score of those in Salem. The panics in
New York, which well-nigh crazed or paralyzed the whole body
of the citizens, originated in alleged jilots of slaves to burn and
plunder the city. In 1712, twenty-one victims were executed.
Some were burned at the stake, one was broken on the wheel, one
was hung in chains to die of starvation. In the second allegeil
plot, in 1741, the Supreme Court and jury, like the people, seemed
to be swept and stunned as bv a tornado, from April to October,
when a Thanksgiving for relief was observed. One hundred and
fifty negroes were imprisoned, fourteen were burned at the stake,
eighteen were hanged, two were gibbeted, and seventy-one were
transported. Four wliite men were executed. In New York, as
in Salem, the first alarm came from a lying and perjured girl, and
a minister of religion, wholly innocent, was among the victims.
Satan was outdone in his demoniac rage in Salem by a more
effective human diabolism in New York.

But while, as has here been strongly airirmed, allowing for
the unique conditions and circumstances of a neighliorhood of
farmers in rude and simple times, there was nothing at all dis-
tinctive or peculiar in the share visited upon Salem Village of its
dismal experience in the universal delusion of witchcraft, there are
three facts connected with the harrowing subject which deserve
emphatic mention. They present themselves as cheering, though
not atoning for, tlie wrongs and miseries of the experience when
time, with its compunctions and regrets, had led to a waking peni-
tential retrospect of the niglitmare visitation. That waking ex-
cited sentiments tenderly and poignantly melancholy and self-
accusatory.

Four years after that in which dismay and frenzy had done
their cruel work, the whole community was exercised by a pro-

iJG4 TUE rORITAN AGE.

found sorrow, a conviction that un irreparable injustice had been
done, which hud violated and tortured the most sacred affections of
private hearts and homes. The names of innocent sufferers were
recalled with unavailing l>ity, when locked and troubled breasts
ventured to break an ominous silence, which could not bring
oblivion. It was the well-nigh universal sentiment that the whole
community sliould join in a [)ublic exjiression of humiliation and
penitence. So a day was set apart for solemn fasting and confes-
sion in homes and meeting-houses. The occasion was made deeply
impressive when one of the judges in the trials rose and stood in
his place in the sanctuary while the minister read aloud a not«
which he had handed to him, asking that in the general prayer his
own individual petition be offered, imploring forgiveness for the
wrong which he had personally committed in his high office.
His prayer was that his error might not be divinely visited upon
him, his family, nor the public.

A third incident, intended to give expression to this general
penitence and commiseration, was the distribution from tlie public
treasury of considerable sums, in compensatory allotments, wholly
inadequate, indeed, but kindly designed, to the representatives of
some of the sufferers from losses, disabilities, or scandals.

Was there a single other community. State, province, county,
or town in Christendom, numbering the victims of the delusion by
scores, hundreds, or thousands, that signified its relief from a
dismal superstition by either of these penitential or compensatory
acts ?

INDEX.

Aahon and Moses, kissinp each
other, Cliurch and State, 2'Jl.

Abenaquis, the, 3G0.

Abrani, call of. 182.

Adam, " a public person," 141.

Adamites, sect of, 100.

Adatns, .John, ?42.

Adams, J. Q , on Roger Williams,
297.

Agents, diplomatic, of Massachu-
setts to Engl.nnd,4H4,4n8, &10, 524,
Cj.jO : instructions to, r>;>G.

Agreement of adventurers, at Cam-
bridge, Kng , 4'.t.

Agricola, .John, founder of Antino-
mians, .122.

Allegiance to England, discussion on,
4K7.

Anabaptists, rise in Germany, 375 ;
early fanaticism of, .3H.i ; proceed-
ings and law against, 381 ; discon-
tent, sua ; at Plymouth, 387. 6>e
liaptists.

Andros, Sir Edmund, on the Puritan
Commonwealth, 11*8, 241.

Antinomian controversy in >fas8a-
ehusctts, 300-302 ; effects of, :V/) ■
recovery and reconciliation, 355.

Antinomians, Sectaries, rise in Ger-
many, 322, SCO ; consequences to
other sectaries, 3.50

Apostles' Creed, the, 80.

Apostolical Succession, denied to be
a doctrine of the Church of Eng-
land, 100.

Apparel, MaBsachusetts law against
rich, 263.

" Arbella," the, 56.

Archer, Rev J., made freeman of
Massachusetts Bay Company, 61.

Ark, Noah's, a child's toy, 1G5.

Arnold, Benedict, letter from, on the
Quakers in Rhode Island, 457.

Aspinwall, William, deacon of First
Church, Boston, 58.

Aspinwall, William, Antinomian, dis-
franchised and banished, .3.34 ; hi»
apology and restoration, .355.

Augustine, 152.

Auricular confession, 01*.

Austin, .Mary, a Quaker, arriv.il and
treatment in Boston, 408, 434.

B.

BACKns, Isaac, hiitorian of the Bap-
tists, 389.

Bailey, Scotch Presbyterian, on the
New England churches, 212, 293.

Banishment from Massachusetts, its
meaning. 'S','l, .320.

Baptism, infant, its administration,
71 ; the rile in the Church of
Rome, 104 ; the cross in, Puritan
ncruple, 104 ; Puritan view of. '205 ;
1 )r. .Jacob nn the rite, 37tj ; founded
on tradition, not Scripture, 370 ;
Westminster Confession on, 377 ;
Court's proceedings, 405.

Baptists, their rise in Massachusetts,
380, 404 ; law and proceedings
against, 404 ; church in Boston,
405. Sep AnaJtaptists.

Barclay's " Apology for the Qua-
kers," 4in.

[m

INDEX.

Baxter, Kicliard. on Sir Henry Vane,
yiiM ; on tlio Quakers, 4 IB.

" lielievers* baptisin," ;i'J7, 404.

Uellin^liaiii, (lepiiiy governor of Mqs-
sactiusett.s, M'j.

Berkeley, Sir William, of Virginia,
on etlueation, 'JO-'i.

Bespc's " yuflerings of tlie Quakers,"
41U.

Bible, tlie first Engliali, lO'J ; revininn
of, 134 ; its peculiar estimate ami
use by the I'urltans, 81, I'JO; a
substitute for the chureli as " the
Word of God," 127 ; popular en-
thusiasm for, 128; Westminster
Confession on, 120, 100; value and
use of, 130; inspiration of, 1?>1 ;
modified estimate of, 135; in the
Puritan home, 105; tlie basis of
the Massachusetts government,
174, 5.30, .538.

Biblical Commonwealth, the Massa-
chusetts tlieoiracy, scheme of, 22,
107, 625, 53ti, 538.

Bishop, George, his " New England
Judged," 4n'.l, 4i;i. 44G.

Bishops, Lord, rurilan hostility to.
88.

Blackstone, William, land granted
to, 231.

Bolles, .Joseph, big " Spirit of the
Martyrs," quoted, 43.

" Booke of Gcnerall Laws and Liber-
ties of Massachusetts," 514.

Boston made capital of Massachu-
settB. 2 ; meetings there, 3 ;
changes in original area, 4, 6 ; so-
cial and political changes in, 0, 7 ;
foreign elements in, 9 ; sects and
churches, 10 ; early government,
12. .Sec Church.

" Bostoneers," Randolph's account
of, 520.

Bradford, governor of Plymouth, 152,
273, .TOil.

Bradstreet, 388; agent of Court to
England, 484.

Brewster, Elder William, 27'!

Brewster, Mary, a Quaker enthusiast,
488.

Brend, William, condemned Quaker,
418 ; gcH-s away, 4 12.

Bridges, magistrate, 390.
Hrcjwn, John, on Quakerism, 418.
Browne, .lolui and hainuel, 5'J.
Bulkeley, Elder, of ( 'oncord, 330.
Burden, Ann, Quaker, in Boston,

44U.
Burnet, Bishop, qucted, 70; on Sir

Henry ^■ane, 328.
Bunyan, .John, 121.
Burrougli, Hev George, 147.
Burroughs, Edward, his answer to

Hf)ger Williams, 418; intercedes

for Quakers with Charles II . 475,

478
Burnyeat, John, Quaker, at Salem,

4!»0.
Bushnell, Dr. Horace, quoted, 510.

C.

Calkndar, Church, of the year. 108,
11 '.I.

Cnlvin, on Common Prayer, 108 ; on
infant danmaiion, 140.

Calvinism, logical deductions from,
137, 140.

Cambridge. Englanil, meeting and
agreement at. of adventurers tor
Massachusetts Bay Colony. 49.

Cambridge, Massachusetts, Court at,
323; synod at, .".29.

Canada, the Ereni h in, 303.

Canadians, Erench, in MassacliusetU,
15.

Card i>lnying, law against, 259.

Carlylc, 'I'homas, on Sir Henry Vane,
328

Carr, Sir Robert, royal commissioner
to .Massachusetts, 510.

Carlwright. George, royal commis-
sioner to Massachuselts, 510.

Cathedrals, English, 1 17.

Chancery, suit against Massachusetts
CharteV, 402

"Charity, Model of Christian," by
Governor Winthrop, 5tV

Charles 1 , fast day proposed, for his
execution, 51.5.

Charles II and a Quaker, 423; ad-
dress of Massachusetts to, on bis
restoration, 474 ; on Quakers, 483 ;

INDEX.

567

letter to the Court, 479 ; Court's
reply, 483 ; his second letter, au-
thorizing "a sharp law " aijiunst
the Quakers, 480 ; on the Charter.
602; requires changes in law, and
the allowance of common prayer,
503 ; anticipates measures of
George III , 527 ; death of, 541.

Chariestown, first church gathered at,
58.

Charter of governor and company of
Massachusetts Bay. transfer of,
46 ; administration under, "228-326 ;
rights conferred by, 22'J ; different
constructions of, — claims of the
Court, — proceedings under, 230,
Governor Winthropon, 23'J ; Judge
Parker on, 243 ; claims under, 428,
525, 6-"/,, 538; downfall of, 4'J2-
641; causes of, 60*1-502; contest
over, with Charles II., 620, 626;
vacated. .'>42 ; consequences of, 643.

Chauncy, Charles, Trc'sident of Har-
vard College. 400.

Cliild, liohert, and others, petition
and remonstrance. 204.

Christison, WInlock, Quaker, in Bos-
ton, condemned, — departs volun-
tarily, 471.

Christmas, law against keeping, 122,
2.j8, 51tj ; repealed, 6^j1.

Church of England, parting address
to the, a?.

Church of England at the Reforma-
tion, reconstruction of, compro-
mise, 78. 87.

("Iiurch. before the Reformation, the
priesthood in, 127.

Church, Puritan view of it, 8criptur,il,
103.

Church, First, of Boston, formed,
covenant of, 58; distractions in,
319; present to Governor Win-
throp, 355.

Church discipline, Puritan, 200

Church, "a particular," Winthrop's
view of, 103.

Church membership, and the fran-
chise, 201 ; objections to, 209,

Circumcision, and infant baptism,
378.

Clarendon, Chancellor, 608.

Clark. Mary, Quaker, in Boston, 441.

Clarke, Ur. .Joiin, 348 ; pastor of
Biiptist church in Newport, 388;
his character, .389 ; his " 111 Newes
from New England," 389; visits
Boston and Lynn, 300; arrested,
391; imprisoned, 392; tine paid
for him, 392 ; denied a public dis-
cussion, 393; returns to Newport,
394.

Clergy, " the inferior," 89 ; the early
(Christian, 96.

Coddington, William, .324 ; banished,
3;39, 3.34. 456.

Coggesliall, John, deputy, SJ4.

Colhurn, W., deputy, 3.39.

College, Harvard, 256, 396; account
of, for Charles II., 518.

Collins, William, fined and banished,
362.

Commissioners for New England
Colonies, 36'.^, 374 ; Massachusetts
Court writes to, on Quakers, 464.

Commissioners, parliamentiiry, to
Massachusetts, 497.

Commissioners, royal, to Massachu.
setts, 610.

Common Prayer, Book of, Puritan
objections to, 108, 110, IJO ;
Charles II. requires its allowance,
503, 613, 52f5.

Commonwealth, a Biblical, its form,
basis, and administration, 107-199 ;
scheme of, 167 ; Puritan, 19.H.

" Commonwealth," title to be
droppeil, 615.

Complaints in England against Mas-
sachusetts, .501.

Confession, the Westminster, Bible,
and creed, 129, 142.

Congregational model of New Eng-
land churches, 69, 103.

Conscience, scruples of, 112; liberty
of, .32, 6.0, 620,

Copflaml. John, Quaker, in Boston,
441,446.

Court, General, of Massachusetts,
contest with royal commissioners,
510.

Cradock, Matthew, governor of Mas-
sachusetts Bay Company, resigns,
61.

r.c8

INDEX.

Craniiull, Jolin, Anabnptiiit, 38?.

OunnitT, Arclilnslinp, Kiiplial) Ui-
lik-, 102 ; i>n luily (Jiiys, HW.

( Vi'ed tif I'uritHiiinin. MO, H'l,

('roriiwell, frii-nil tif Ko^cr Williarafl,
2GII ; on Sir Hi-nry Vane, H2M

(Vos8, siKii of, I'urilan Bcruples of,
101, lOG.

Cotuiii. l!fv. Jnlin, 100; liin "Milk
fiT Hiiln->," lilT . liiH controverBicB
Willi Kojiir WilliamB, Whecl-
wri^;lit, Vane, anil Mrs Hutchin-
son, HIT, -i'U. 331, 'Hb, 3-10, ,'iJ(J,

Cotton, John, Jr., L'Tl.

Convocation, houses of, TiT* ; on holy
days and saints' days, 110.

Covenant, Uod's, with man, HI.

Covenant of First Church, Boston,
6«.

Covenants of grace and works, liWj,
20h, 303-

Council for New Kngland, 46.

1)

D'A I LLE BO csT, Governor of Canada,
3I.7.

Dancing, Rev. John Cotton, on. 187.

I)'Aulnay,his visit t« Boston, 366.

Davenport, Ilev, John, on govern-
ment, IM'i ; Hermon, 3'Jit ; on the
Quakers, 450.

Deacons, chosen in First Church,
Hoston, 68 ; not an order in the
ministry, 80; Congregational. 87,
O-.i; Dr. G. A. Jncoh, on, aVflO,

iJegeneracy, charges of, 42; decay
of primitive spirit, 6-10.

Deputies and magistrates, variances
between, 640.

Diaries. Puritan, 16'J.

Disarming and lianishment of Anti-
nomians, 334, 340.

Discipline, Purilan church, 'Jlfi.

Dissensions in Massncliusetls. f>00.

DissenterB in F.n).dnnd, 04. 6(K1, 608.

Dowdney, Uichiini, Quaker, in lios-
ton, 441.

Downing, Kmanuel, 48.

Doyle, his " Knplish in America,"
(,iinted, 107. 23R, 885; on Ihe
Quakers, 476. 477.

Dudley, Gov. Thomas, 49, 233 ; vari-
ance with Winthroyi, 311,338; vis-
ited hy Father Druillette, 308.

Dudley, Gov. Joseph, agent, his ill
repute, 6.'1.3, 636, 640, 641.

Drudlettc, Father (iabriel, his diplo-
matif- visit to MaBsachuseits, 3G.'>-
374 ; his entertainment, 308 ; visit*
(iovernor Dudley, lUVH ; Governor
Hradford, 3r,'J ; the Apostle Eliot,
370 ; Governor Fndicott, 370.

Dummer, magistrate and deputy,
324.

Dunster, Henry, arrives in Boslon,
3!I4 ; President of Harvard Col-
lege, character and services, 396;
dissents on infant baptism, 390;
protests, and is put under disci-
pline, 3'.t0 ; magistrates interpose,
397 ; resigns office, 31'H ; admon-
ished by Court. 390 ; his second
resignation, 4(Ni; his letter of
withdrawal, ill treatment, 402 ;
removes to Scituate. — his death,
interment, and monument. 402.

Dutch, the. at .Manhattan, 611.

Dyer, Mary, Anlmomian and
Quaker. 440. 401 ; condemned and
reprieved. 402, 404 : comes a fourth
time, 4*j7 ; is executed, her con-
stancy and heroism. 470.

Dyer, William, his petition for hit
wife, 468.

E.

EcoNOMT, early, in Massachusetts.
12.

Education, public, in .Maisachusctts.
13, 266, 618.

Edward \'I., reform under, 76 ; ser-
vice-book. 102.

Edwards, Jonathan, 1.60

p^dw.irds. Thomas, his " Gangreena "
420.

Elders, the Puritan, in Massachusetts,
influence and functions of, advis-
ers, not legislators. 188, 194, 276,
321, 4,S2. 407, MO.

" Elect." the Puritan. 142.

Elector Palatine of the Khine, visiieil
by Quakers, 423.

INDEX.

569

Eliot, Rev. John, iinJer diecipUnp,
149; visited by Fattier Druillette,
370.

Eliz.ibetli, Queen, in the Reforma-
tion, 100.

Endicott, Gov. John, at Salera, 46;
letter of, 140 ; mutilates the king's
colors, 282 ; in the trial of Wheol-
wright, 323, 338 ; visited by Father
Druillette, 370; in the Court
against Baptists, 3'J2 ; Quakers,
4.Jti: his death, 610.

England, Church of, at the Reforma-
tion, 68, 70 ; relation of the Non-
conformists to, 03-124.

Enthusiasts and fanatics, after the
Reformation, 105.

Episcopal denomination, scheme of,
for "Christian rnity," .'i-10.

Established Church in England, 77 ;
favors to, 507.

Evelyn, John, visits Quakers in
prison, 420.

Excommunication in Puritan church,
210.

" Fall of Man." the, 141.

Fanatical Sects at the Heformntion,
38{..

Fast Days, Puritan, 160.

Featley, Daniel, his " Dippers Dipt,"
420.

Fire, disastrous, in Boston, 528.

Fisher, Mary, Quaker, in Boston.
434 ; her suffcringM in England, and
hi.story, 43.'i ; her imprisonment,
treatment, and banishment, 440.

Fleet, Winthrop's, to Boston, 02.

Foster, William, banished. 2.-1.

Fox, George, his Journal and I.et-
ters, 415; his testimony to his
call and mission, 421 ; organizer of
the Friends, or Quakers, his prin-
ciples, 424 ; " Leather Breeches,"
423; sufferings, 425 ; visits Amer-
ica, 491.

Franchise in Massachusetts. Sep
Freemen.

Freemen of the Company of Massa-
chusetis Bny, election of, 200 ; re

quired to be church members,
201 ; oath of, 202 ; numbers of,
203; church meinbershii>, how
secured, 205 ; the King requires a
change, 6*J3 ; made, 505.

" Friars," in Boston, ;505.

" Friends." .iVc Quakers.

" Fundamentalls " of the Massachu-
setts, 204. 208.

G.

Gaoeh, Deacon of First Church,
Boston, 68.

Gardmer. Sir (""hristopher. 47.

Gardner, Horred, Quaker. 442.

Gibbens, Sarah, Quaker, 442, 440.

Gibbons. Major General Edward,
entertains Father Druillette, 308.

Gideon's Fleece. 182.

(iod, Puritan view of, 12G, 139.

Goffe. the rcgieiile, demanded and
sheltered, 514.

(iorges, his dispute with Massachu-
setts, 47, 521,

Governor-general fur New England,
proposed by Randolph to the
King. 523.

Greensmitli, Stephen, fined, 321.

H.

IIallam, Hf.NRT.on Sir Henry Vane,
3'2».

Harris, Thomas, Quaker, in Boston,
442.

Harvard College, 395, 518.

Hat, the, its significance for Quakers,
423, 443, 40.3

Hatch, Edwin, his " Growth of Chris-
tian Institutions," 101.

Hathorne, magistrate, against Qua-
kers, 441.

Haugh, magistrate and deputy, 3'24.

Healths, law against drinking, 261.

Heathen, the fate of the, 142, 144.

Hell, torments of, 142.

" Hell Broke Loose," a tract against
Quakers, by Thos. Underliill. 417.

Henry VIII., his quarrel with the
Pope, head of the English Church,
a good Roman Catholic, 67 ; not a
religious reformer, 74.

r>io

INDEX.

llereJity of Puritanism, 7.

Ilibbfns, niupiytratu, ;i71.

Uii'rarcliy, i'uritan objections to, 60,
H;J; titles of, 114.

Hij;^ln8on, I{ev. Krancis, 05.

Hodjjstoiit', Robert, Quaker, at Loni^
Island, 41'j.

Ilohicr, Cliristopher, Quaker, 441,
445, 4tJ7.

Holmes, <»baili;ili, Anabaptist, 388,
BcoufKeiJ, •\U\

Homilies, books of, 09.

Hooker, I{ev. Kicliard, on Apostoli-
cal Succession, HXJ.

Hooker, Rev. Thomas, conference
with Roper Williams, 290; at Cam-
bridge Synod, 380.

Howe, liev. John, 121.

Hudson Bay Company's charter, 2^8

Huguenots, immigration to Boston, U.

Humphrey, John, 4'.l, 233.

Humphreys, Kohert, counsel for
Massachusetts, oAX.

Hutchmson, Mrs. Arme,with iiusband
and cliildren, arrives in Boston,
305 ; admitted to Boston church,
30G ; her friendly services to her
aex, 300 ; holds women's meetings
criticising ministers, .'J07 ; her par-
tiality to Mr. Cotton, 308; Win-
throp'fl opinion of her, 312; her
opinions and teachings, 313; her
arraignment, Z'X>; is banislied,
336 ; is admonished by the church,
;342 ; excommunicateil, 341 ; goes
to Rhode Island, 348; further
church discipline, 350; tragic
death, 3.j4 ; posterity, 357.

Hutchinson, I'Mward, 357; Francis,
352. 353; Samuel. 350.

Hutchinsiin, Gov. Thomas, 357.

Hutchinson, William, member of
Boston (.^hurch, freeman and dep-
uty, 306; his character, banish-
ment, and death, 353.

I.

Ideal (cliomcs of pnTcmmenf, 170.

Imniif^rfttion of Tri.sli and Frencli

Canadiang to Maesacliugctts, 15.

Itidiane, sale of liquor to, 260 ; tlieir
riffhtB, 274, '^TB; at Harvard Col-
lf|<i', Glh ; tonverttd and civilized,
their tuwrm, .OIK, GllK

Inspiration of tlie liiljle, l.'!l.

liicolurance, Puritan, [leculiar form
of, .044.

Ipswich, rival to Roilon, 1.

Irish immigration to Masaachusetts,

J.

jACon, Dr. G. A , liis "Ecclesia«tical
I'olitv of the New Teplament,"
quoted, 9.3, 90, 99, 100 ; on mfant
baptism, 370.

.Jacob's dream, IK'J.

James I., his relation to tlie Papal
Church, 91.

James II. proclaimed in Boston, 541 ;
Court's letter to. ^"iH.

Jennison, deputy from Ipswich, 339.

Jesuits, law against, in Massachu-
setts, 304.

Jewish synagogues in Boston, 10.

Johnson, Cnpt. Edward, his " Zion's
Saviour," quoted, 3; on transpor-
tation of ships and people to Bos-
ton, 219.

Johnson, Isaac, 49, 68, 233.

Jonson, Ben, liis " Bartholomew
Fay re," 121.

Judas, assigned a " bishopric," bO.

Judges, tlie Bnok of, MM.

Judgment, right of private. l.'W.

Justification, Puritan view of, l.'i7,
301.

K.

KEN-NrnEC, Ply mouth trucking-house

at, ;'*!.
King, Mrs , Anabaptist, at Lynn, 381.

I..

I.ATOUR visits Boston, SM.
Land, Archbishop, 270, 4'2t3
Laws, Massachusetts, examined by
royal commissioners, 514.

INDEX.

371

Ijiy conferences, 82.

Laymen recognize J in church gov-
ernment, 82, llo, 110, 120, 18y.

Lechford, Thomas, on administration
in Massauliusetts, 240.

Irfckey, his " History of Rational-
ism," 40.

Lcddra, Wilham, Quaker, 442 ; exe-
cuted, 470.

Legalism, law of works, 156.

Legislation, Puritan, 195, 251, 254.

Leigh, Lord, his visit to Boston, 326.

Leverett, Governor, 521.

Leyden. John of, 347.

Liberalism, early, in Massachusetts,
7.

Liberty of conscience, .32, 520.

Lincoln, daughters of the Earl of, 40.

Liquors, legislation on, 259.

" Lord Bishops," Puritan dislike of,
gK, 119.

Lonl's Day, legislation on, 16.

Lord's Prayer, scruples of Puritons,
157.

Loyalty, Puritan, to God, not to
kings, 139.

M.

Macaclat, on Church of England
at Reformation, 73 ; on Fox's Jour-
nal, 415, 424.

Mackintosh, Sir J , on Sir Henry
Vane, 328.

Magistrates, Puritan, " ministers of
God," 184.

Maine, Province of, 47, 521 ; Massa-
chusetts' purchase of, 525.

Man, fall of, 141.

Marten, Ambrose, disciplined, 232.

Mason and Gorges, disputes with
Massachusetts, 47, 625, 530, 533.

Mass, service of the, 101.

Massachusetts Bay Company, its
charter as a trading company, 40 ;
proposed transfer, with adminis-
tration here, discussed, agreetnent,
48; original members of the Com-
pany, 49.

Mather, Cotton, on Roger Williams,
297.

Mathers, Increase and Cotton, their
diaries, 153.

Maverick, Sam., royal commissioner
to Massachusetts, 510.

"Mayflower," the, 52.

Mayhow, Thomas, at Martha's Vine-
yard, 445.

Mayor of Boston, 10.

Mediajvalisra, I'urilan rejection of,
515.

Meetings, public, in Boston, 2.

Milton, Jolm, Puritan, 80, 121 ; son-
net on Vane, 190; friend of Roger
Williams, 209.

Ministers in the country towns of
Massachusetts, 14.

Ministry, parity of the, 83 ; not three
orders, 84.

Mitchell, minister of Cambridge, 3!)0,
402.

Mitre, Bishop Seabury's, 123.

Moody, Lady, at Lvnn, Anabaptist,
381.

More, Henry, on the Quakers, 420.

More's " Utopia," 170

Mormons, the, 170.

Morion, Thomas, 47. 2-'!n.

Moses anil Aaron, Church and State,
221.

Muggleton, Ludwick, his books,
427.

Munster, fanatics of, 347, 387.

N.

Narraoavsett Club, publications,

208.
Navigation Laws, in Massachusetts,

511, 521,534.
Negro-plots, in New York, victims of,

503.
Newbury, church in, 214.
" New England's First Fruits," 400.
New Hampshire and Jolm Mason, 47,

521, 522.
Newhouse, Thomas, Quaker, breaks

bottles, 447.
Newman, Rev. Samuel, of Seekonk,

his Concordance, .388.
Nicolls, Col. Richard, royal commis-
sioner, 510.

INDEX.

Nicolson, JoBcpIi, and wife, con-
dftniied QuakiTs, dufiart, 473.

Nuah'« Ark, cliild'M Ivy, IG.O.

Nonuoiil'orriiisls, Iheir relation to the
t'hurcli (if KnKlaiul, H.i-VAi ; dis-
lin^'uislied from the .SiparutiBtfl,
C'i i on cliuruli liolidays, 110 ; prin-
cipk-s, 113.

Norton, Humphrey, C^uaker, his
tract, •141.

Norton, Ucv.,John, invited to Boston
t'liurch, 'Z'S-i ; answers Mr. I'yn-
chon's book, 224 ; Quakers, 4;JH,
442; described by a Quaker, 44»i,
4(Jo : sermon, 407 ; at^eiit of the
Court to England, 4S4.

Nowell, Increase, 49 ; chosen elder,
&b.

Nowell, Samuel, agent of Massacliu-
setts, [>'M.

Nye, Uev. Philip, freeman of the
Company, 01.

Oath, the freeman's, 202; the resi-
dent's, 28J.

Owen, Uev. Dr. John, invited to Bos-
ton Church, 224.

P.

Paoitt's "Heresiography," 379, 420

Painter, Mr., of Ilmgham, Anabap-
tist, 383.

Pap.iey, the, in England, 66-09

I'anly and equality in the ministry,
83.

Parker, Chief .Justice Joel, on the
Charter of Massachusetts Buy
Company, 243-24.0.

Patent of Massachusetts secreted,
001.

I'atents of James I. and Charles I.,
270.

Patrick's, St., day in Boston, 14.

Patriotic rlivinity, 7H.

I'eriii, Wiliiatn, editor of Fox's jour-
nal, 41.''., 419; mode of life, 4!K1.

PepVM, Sumuel, on the present of
masts to the king, from Massa-
chubetls, 017.

Pcrrott, John, Quaker, at Salem,
489.

Persecution for religion, Koger Wil-
liams on, 2tJ8, 494.

Peter, Hugh, 293; arrives in Boston,
310; his mediation between Win-
throp and Dudley, 311; rebukes
Vane, 318, 338.

Philip's War, 020, 024, 028.

Plantations, council for, sends Ran-
dolph, 021.

Plato's Kepublic, 170.

Plymouth court, the Anabaptists,
3K7 ; Quaker", i'jO.

Plymouth truck-house at the Ken-
nebec, 3GG.

Polemical controversy, 300.

Powell, Michael, and the Second
Churcli of Boston, 223.

Prayer Book, first I'.nglish. 102.

Prayer, common, 108, 110, 120, 603.
Ois, 020.

Prayer, the Lord's, 157 ; in Puritan
worship, 108, 101.

Prayers for the dead, 69.

Presbyterianism, dread of. in Massa-
cliusetts, 22t.t.

Presbyien.-tnisiu on Apostolic Sue-,
cession, !>0.

Presents of Massachusetts to the
king. 517.

Primitive Christianity, 78

"Progressive theology," 149.

Providence and Koger Williams,
299.

Puritan scheme of government in
Massachusetts, 22, 29 ; theory of,
30; criticised, 31 38; severity, 40;
principles, 113; nicetingliouses,
118; odious element.*. 173 : poli-
ties, 1"0; term of, 542; results,
54.0 ; heritage of, 54G.

l^uritan loyalty to the creed, 150.

Puritan ministers, the. 188, 194, 275,
321, 482, 497. 540.647.

Puritanism, in the Englisti Church,
origin of, 0.'), 73.

Puritans and Quakers confronted,
400.

Pynchon, WilliRm, 50; magistrate of
Springtlehl, 198 ; proceedings
against hia heretical book, 224.

INDEX.

573

Q-

Qdakkr literature, two classes of,

413,414, 419.

Quakers, modern, charged with de-
generacy, 43 ; intrusion of. in Mas-
sachusetts, 408-491 ; arrival, 40« ;
constern.ilion, 409 ; dread of them,
411, 429-433 ; first known by their
oddities, 412 ; distribute tracts, 410 ;
books for and against tlieir prin-
ciples, 417; later writers, 418;
confounded with fanatics, 420;
their sufferings in England, 425,
430, 453, 485 ; their " Inspira-
tions," 430; their constancy and
fidelity, 431 ; first two in Boston,
434 ; imprisoned and banislied,
43G ; proceedings of the magis-
trates, 437 ; more arrivals, 438 ;
first law against them, 439; suf
ferers, 440; iheir theology, 443;
abusive tract, 415; sympathizers,
447 ; more laws, 448 ; citizen's pe-
tition, 449; manifesto, 450; capi-
tal law proposed. 451 ; opposition
to, 453 ; passed by a majority of
one^ io4 ; in Rhode Island, 457 ;
Koger Williams on, 45H ; seven
under condemnation voluntarily
go off, 40<J ; two executions, 4G3 ;
Court's declaration, 405 ; another
execution, 470 ; prisoners agree to
go off, 472; popular opposition,
472; jail delivery, 473; (Court's
address to Charles II , 474 ; new
law, 476 ; not opposed to civil
law, 470; tlie king's letter, 479;
effect of, 479, 487 ; elders advise
the Court, 482, 483; Court re-
plies to the king. 484 ; new laws,
486, 489; tlie king's second letter,
authorizing measures of severity,
486; extravagances of three yua-
ker women, 488 ; scourging of,
488; spirit of final toleration, 489;
variances among themselves, 490,
532.

Quo warranto against Massachusetts
Charter, 529; threatened, 632 ; is-
sued, 541.

Radclippe, Philip, 47.

Randolph, Mrs., in South Church,

531, 551.

Randolph, Kdward, sent to Massa-
chusetts as messenger of Council
for Plantations, 521 ; enemy of
Massachusetts, makes discord and
mischief, 522 ; his representations
to the king, 6'2:'.. .529 ; watches the
agents of Massachusetts, 524 ; ap-
pointed collector and surveyor for
New England, 527 ; insults lo him,
530; his frequent voyages, 534;
his triumph, 542.

Ranters, the, 427, 456.

Rationalism, progress and effect of.
40, 42.

Record Commissioners of Boston,
11.

Records of Governor and Company
of Massachusetts Bay, fulness and
value of, 168

Redemption, method of, 143.

Reeves, .John, his books proscribed
in Massachusetts, 427.

Reformation, the. in England, stages
of, 68, 76; substitutes the Bible for
the Churcli, 127.

Regicides, Whalley and Coffc. de-
manded hy the king, but sheltered
here. 513, 514, 5'2;i.

Religion, compulsory support of, in
Massachusetts, 213, 215.

Remonstrance to Massachusetts
Court, .334.

Revelation, method of, 180.

Revision of English Bible, 1-3-3.

Rhode Island an ill neighbor to
Massachusetts, 442; Quakers in,
4.W ; Arnold's letter on, 4.57.

Richards. John, agent of Massachu-
setts, 530, 6.'i5.

Robinson, William, Quaker, exe-
cuted in Boston, 403.

Roman Catholic Cliurch, power of,
in England, 72; Puritan hatred of,
83.

Roman Catholic churches in Bos-
ton, 10.

574

INDEX.

s.

Saboatii, llie Puritan, 18; legielH-
tioii on, ^:io, 2'11 .

Sucerdotali^rll, I'uritan prolest
Against, 516 ; reverBiiin to, O-V).

Saints' days in the Uonian Church,
1U8, ll'j"

Salem, Bctllenient nt, 40; town ancj
church, L'8(< ; Kogcr Williams
teaclitr of, L'a'.t ; wilchcrnft in, {JOC.

Saltonstall, Sir liichard, 4li, -248, 494.

Saltonstull, Kobert, 248.

" Sanclilication," Puritan view of,
l&Ci, -Mi.

Satan, an enemy of education, 206.

Savage, Hon. .James, 357.

Savage, Major Tliomas, 357.

Scholars anil divines, English, in New
England, 107, 113.

Schools, public, system of, in Massa-
chusetts, 13. 250, 256, 257, 618.

Scriptures the sole authority for
Puritans. 7'.< ; quoted in legisla-
tion, .34 1,. 'm, 375, 4GC. 524.

Seabury, cnnsecrated Bishop in Scot-
land. 123 ; mitre, 123.

Sectaries, after the Reformation, 105,
375.

Semperinpliam, England, 48.

Separatist.';, relations to the Church
of P^ngiand. 03.

Sergeants, with halberds, attend the
governor, 324.

Service-book, English, 102.

Sewall, History of the Quakers, 410.

Scwall, Judge Samuel, 110, 147, 404,
&:il.

Shattuck, Samuel, Quaker, banished,
441 ; brings a letter from Charles
II., received by P^ndicott; his own
letter on the interview, 479.

6lie[»ard, Kev. Thomas, of Cam-
bridge, 330.

Sin, original. 141.

Smith. .loseph. his catalogue of books
on Quiikors, 417.

Smyth, .John, banisbeil. 231.

Solonion's Song. 131, IhO.

Southwick, Laurence and Cassandra,
441,452.

■Standish, Miles, at the Kennebec,

3t;0.
Starbuck, Edward, of Dover, Ana

baptist, 380.
Stevenson, Marniuduke, Quaker, ex

ecuted in boston, 403.
Stouglitou, William, declines agency,

5.30.
Sunday, legislation on, 15, 18.
Suriifituary Laws, 34, 203.
Swift, Dean, on Sir Henry Vane,

328.
Synagogues, Jewish, in Boston, 10.
Synod, at Cambridge, 217, 221, 330,

331, 332-3.34.
Supper, the Lord's, 71, 05, 101.

Temple, Colonel, offers a harborsge

to Quakers, 460.
Thanksgivings, Puritan, 10^).
" Thee" and " thou," of the Quakers,

42.3. 4;iO.
Theocracy, Massachusetts scheme of,

170, 170; overthrow of, 642-514.
Thursday lecture, '221 , Quakers at-
tend, 442, 463.
Tilton. .John, of L\nn, his wife an

Anab.iptist, .381.
Towns, country, in Massachusetts,

changes in, 8; inhabitants. 13;

ministers in, H ; histories of, 13.
Transubstantiation. 70,
Trinity, in the Westminster Creed,

142'
Truth, slow and difficult progress of,

44.

u.

I'notion, extreme, 00.

Underhill, Capt. John, 25, 187. 306.

I'liderhill, Thomas, tract against

Quakers, 417.
Unity, Christian, plea for, '.)7.
Upshall, NicholHs. sympathizer with

Quakers, Hned and banished. 437.

440.
Upshall, Mrs., her petition, 438.

INDEX.

575

" Valid ministry," a. 98.

Vane, Henry, 19G, 'J36 ; friend of
Roger Williams, 26y ; arrives in
Boston, 310; admitted to uhurcli,
310; mediates between Wintlirop
and Dudley, 311 ; friend of Mrs.
Hutchinson, chosen Governor, 315;
pathetic scene in Court, 310; re-
buked by Hugh Peter, 317; on
Wheelwright's trial, 323, 324 ; con-
troversy with Winthrnp, .320 ; re-
turns to England. 320; friend of
Massachusetts and the Indians,
327; his character, judgments on,
3;?8 ; execution, 328 ; posthumous
son, 329.

Vassall, William, 4'J.

Venncr, Thomas, the Fifth Monarchy
leader, 483.

Virginia, compulsory laws on reli-
gion, 234.

w.

Walford, Thomas, of Charlestown,
banished, 230.

Ward, Natlianiel, 51 ; on making
laws, 107.

Wardel, Mrs., of Hampton, Quaker,
488.

Waugh, Dorothy, Quaker, 442, 440.

Welde, Mr. .Josepli, in charge of
Mrs. Hutchinson, 330.

Welde, KIder, 3.07,

Westminster Confession on Bible
and Creed, 128.

Whalley, regicide, outlawed and
sheltered, 513, 514.

Wiicelwngiit, Uev. ,Iuhn, arrives in
Boston, 305; causes dissension in
the church, 314; liis F;iBt Day
sermon, 321; banished, 335; goes
to Exeter, 348 ; [letition for pardon,
358; granted. 358; visits England,
358; returns, his ministry and
death, S-'A

Wliite, Rev. .John, Puritan rector of
Dorchester, .5f)

Whitehead, Ceorge, editor of Fox's
Epistles, 416.

Whiting, John, reply to C- Mather
on Quakers, 410, 480.

Wiggan, John, tract against Quakers,
418.

Wigglesworth, Michael, 160.

Williams, Hoger, on the English Ke-
formation, 74 ; his characler, 207 ;
liis biographers, 200 ; friends in
England, 209; his early years,
270 ; not the founder of the Bap-
lists, 270; a Separatist, 271 ; not
a freeman, 272 ; call to halem
church opposed by magistrates,
272 ; goes to Plymouth, "his repute
there, returns to Salem. 273; his
book on the Patent, 274 ; com-
plained of, 275; vrithdrawn, 280;
rights of the Indians, 278; pro-
ceedings of Court, 282 ; fails ol hie
promise, 283; refuses resident's
oath, 28-1 ; land case at Salem, 280 ;
writes " letters of defamation,"
287 ; withdraws from his church,
280; goes off privately, 200; con-
troversy with Cotton, on persecu-
tion, 208; his Indian vocabulary,
200; among the Inilians, 202 ; vfiy-
nge to Kiiglnnd for Charter, 204 ;

' life in ProvhUnce, 205 ; has leave
to cmbnrk from Boston, 200 ; kind
services toMassacliusetts,'208; ban-
ishment revoked, 21*8 ; death ami
honors, 200 ; friend of Vane, .327.
340 ; opinion of Quaker litera-
ture, 414; Quaker manners, 4'8 ;
disputation with Quakers, and an-
swer to Fox. 401 .

Wdson, Deborah. Quaker, 488.

Wilson. John, pastor of First Church,
58 ; in the Antinoniian contro-
versy, .321

Wiiislow, John, at Kennebec, friend
of Druillette. .'107.

Wintlirop. Jyhn, inenihcr and Gov-
ernor of Massachusetts Bay Com-
pany, founder of Massncliuselts,
13; leader of the enterprise, 23;
statues of, 23 ; his character and
eminent virtues, 25 ; Captain Un-
derhill's praise of him, 25 ; his
journal. 20 ; his death and funeral,
27 ; departure from England with

57G

INDEX.

fleet, 05; eermon on tlie passai^e,
50 ; arrivL'8 in Buston, 67 ; liie
" Particular Cliurcli," 58, 103, 117 ;
lii« lii>tor_v, ir>2, 164; vnriance with
Ko^er Wiliiunis, li7J. 'JMO ; with
Dudley, 311; on Mrs. Hulcliin-
son's opinions, IM'.'* , Boston church,
314 ; variance with Vane, o'JO ; on
the 8_>iioil Rt CiiniLiridge, o^j^! ;
trial of Mrs Hutchinson, 337 ;
present from Boston church, 350;
entertains friars, 3tJ5 ; on Mary
I>ycr, 440; proposed tniasiun to
Kn^Hand, 4'.'H.
Winthrop, John, Jr., Captain Under-

hiU'h letter to. 25; opposee capital
law flj^miist Quakers, 451*; Kev.
John I >avcnporih letter to, 459.

WiHwall, Uea. John, opposes capital
law against Quakers, 45-1.

Witchcraft, baleni, note on,556-5'J4.

Witter, Wiliiani, of Lynn, Anabap-
tist, 3M1 ; in Court, 38:^; visit to,
3b'J, 31*4.

Women's meetings, the Court on,
IWli ; Mrt*. Ilutchinson's Scripture
warrant for them, 337.

Wood's "New England's Prospect,"
170.

Worship, Puritan, 167

University Prcn*, Caiiil>rltl(to: John Wilson A S<>n.